(OTTAWA) The CRTC chair admits that the federal bill currently before Parliament would give him the power to regulate home videos posted on digital platforms like YouTube.
Updated yesterday at 8:10 p.m.
But Ian Scott predicts that this control will never happen, because the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has no interest in overseeing this online content.
Critics of the federal online broadcasting bill quickly seized on Mr. Scott’s remarks, which they say contradict the assurances given so far by the Minister of Heritage.
Pablo Rodriguez has always maintained that the bill would not give the CRTC the power to regulate user-generated content like “cat videos.”
At a meeting of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage on the study of supply on Wednesday evening in Ottawa, Mr. Scott admitted, in response to questions from a Conservative MP, that in its current form, the Liberal government would effectively allow the CRTC to regulate user-generated content if necessary.
Bill C-11, currently before Parliament, would give the CRTC the power to regulate not only traditional broadcasters, but also online platforms like YouTube, Netflix and Spotify. It would require digital platforms to promote Canadian content, including films, music videos and television shows, and to contribute financially to their creation.
Scott Benzie, chief executive of Digital First Canada, said the CRTC chair just confirmed what digital creators have been saying since the bill was released. They warned that the regulator would have power to intervene on their work, including the publications of comedians, animators and players on platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat and Twitch.
Benzie accused the federal government of being misleading in saying the bill would not affect user-generated content.
“It’s good to see that the truth is finally on the table,” Benzie said. The bill encompasses everything. Once the CRTC has those powers, it’s really hard to go back. »
Rodriguez said in a statement that with Bill C-11, “we are asking online broadcasters who benefit from Canadian culture to contribute to it. Canadians and their content are excluded. Period. »
The minister added that CRTC decisions are “transparent and open to public input”.
“Compare that with the 26 million videos deleted last year by YouTube with minimal oversight and transparency – and no public accountability,” the minister said.
Before the Commons committee on Wednesday, the CRTC chairman said there should be a higher degree of confidence in the organization’s future actions, explaining that in 50 years of broadcasting regulation, the CRTC had “never interfered with individual content”.
Scott’s five-year term as president ends in September and the federal government is already accepting applications for his position, with a salary of up to $328,000 a year. The job posting seeks experience in digital media, broadcasting or telecommunications.
The CRTC has been criticized for its lack of expertise in regulating the digital sphere, a claim Scott, when asked about it at the committee, vehemently disputed.
The intention of the bill
The regulator said in a statement after Mr Scott’s appearance that “as currently drafted, the bill draws a distinction between social media users and the platforms themselves. It is clear to the CRTC that the intent of the bill is to exclude individual users from regulation. »
The CRTC added that “the content itself may be subject to some regulatory oversight, but only in certain limited circumstances”, such as if it generates revenue, is available on other platforms such as television and is categorized by an internationally assigned unique identifier.
The release says that if the CRTC chooses to put in place regulations, they should be designed to achieve the policy objectives of the Broadcasting Act.
YouTube warned at a national culture summit earlier this month that the bill, as drafted, would give the CRTC the ability to monitor daily videos posted for other users to view. watch.
The streaming bill contains a clause excluding from the regulations videos uploaded by a user for other users to watch.
Next are qualifying clauses stating that the CRTC can establish “programming” regulations, which YouTube says would give the regulator discretion and the ability to oversee a wide range of digital content, including home videos.
YouTube Canada’s Jeanette Patell said in a statement: “We heard from the government that they have no intention of regulating user-generated content (UGC), but the CRTC Chair has confirmed that UGC remains still in the text of the bill. »
“Our simple request is that they resolve this inconsistency and include specific language in the bill to exclude UGC from CRTC regulation, to protect thousands of Canadian creators who make their living on digital platforms. »
YouTube said the number of Canadian content creators earning more than $100,000 a year on its platform is growing every year.
Michael Geist, professor who holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and Electronic Commerce Law at the University of Ottawa, also believes that user-generated content is not excluded from the bill.
“Mr. Scott’s remarks confirm what was quite obvious to anyone who took the time to read the bill,” Geist said.
“The door is wide open for the CRTC to establish user content regulations, including discoverability rules that could harm Canadian digital creators. There are good reasons why no other country in the world regulates user content in this way,” he argued.