Google, TekSavvy, Twitter and other digital companies have actively funded in recent years an organization that oversees citizen mobilization campaigns against bills aimed at tightening the regulation of the Internet and telecommunications in Canada.
Little known in Quebec, the non-profit organization OpenMedia has been leading campaigns for more than ten years to promote web neutrality as well as to modify the C-11 project, which aims to regulate the use of personal information, or prevent the success of Bill C-10, which seeks to reform the Broadcasting Act.
From its website, it is possible to sign petitions or send pre-written emails directly to an MP from a postal code. For some campaigns, OpenMedia uses a telephone transfer tool to directly reach the offices of decision-makers. And its strike force is real.
Under Bill C-11, “over 12,000 messages” were sent to MPs in one year by members of the OpenMedia community. More than 40,000 people have signed the online petition which, in its words, denounces “the disaster” of Bill C-10 to reform the Broadcasting Act.
However, the organization – whose chairman of the board is a Shopify executive, Dylan Blanchard – has received financial support in recent years from private companies mobilized against government bills. While difficult to estimate with precision, these donations have totaled hundreds of thousands of dollars over the past six years.
TekSavvy alone has donated at least $ 100,000 to the organization. Since 2015, the telecommunications company – which opposes Bill C-10 – has been one of the “Platinium” members who donate more than $ 20,000 annually to OpenMedia.
Twitter is one of the “Gold” donors, whose annual donations range between $ 10,000 and $ 20,000, while Google was one of the “Platinum” donors between August 2016 and January 2020. The two American giants are currently registered in the Canadian Registry of Lobbyists for proceedings related to Bills C-11 and C-10.
“Editorial independence”
OpenMedia denies representing their interests. “We maintain a strict policy of editorial independence with all of our major donors. We appreciate their support when we are [sur la même longueur d’onde sur des dossiers] and when they want to support what we do, ”responded by email Matthew Hatfield, campaign manager at OpenMedia.
The organization requires that a minimum of 50% of its operating budget come from its activist base, he explains. “In our last fiscal year, over 70% of our funding was provided by individual members of the grassroots community. “
Regarding Google more specifically, Matthew Hatfield notes that the multinational has not made any donations for a few years already. However, “for the sake of transparency”, he adds that the company “has undertaken to contribute again this year. However, we have not yet received any funds ”.
Contacted by The duty, Google confirms its long-standing support for OpenMedia. “We are proud to engage with organizations around the world that help make the Internet a driver of innovation and economic opportunity,” responded in a brief email on behalf of Google Zaitoon Murji, Director of Communications at Youtube.
A lawyer specializing in intellectual property and technology, Richard C. Owen is very critical of the financing of OpenMedia. He sees it as a form of indirect lobbying that revolves around an organization that claims to represent the interests of Canadians.
In doing so, a multinational like Google, for example, “is using its vast wealth to undermine copyright protections through political initiatives, lobbying and public relations.” It recruits allies very, very widely among NGOs, ”he said.
“It skews the debates surrounding intellectual property law and Internet regulation”, especially since these activities are juxtaposed with the official lobbying of these companies, he specifies.
Last July, The duty had recorded the lobbying activities of digital giants with the federal government in the context of Bills C-10 and C-11. With five active lobbyists, Google had declared 56 communications between July 2020 and July 2021. The majority of communications dealt with issues relating to broadcasting, taxation and intellectual property.