Why Bill C-10 Could Spell Trouble for Consumers
If you use the Internet for anything from social media, to streaming services, to reading blogs (like you’re doing right now), then Bill C-10 should very much be on your radar. The Bill has been all over the news lately, but as with most things government-related, it can be hard to comb through the details and get a base level understanding of what is going on and why.
For this particular case, it’s imperative that you, an Internet user in Canada, understand what is going on and how it will affect you. A majority of Canadian consumers and free speech advocates are up in arms over the Bill, due to the possibility of it eradicating net neutrality as we know it. We previously covered the concept of net neutrality in a blog last year, so let's look at Bill C-10 and what that could mean for users, net neutrality, and the Internet in Canada.
Bill C-10: Explained
Let’s step back, and look at where this all began. Steven Guilbeault, the Minister of Canadian Heritage, is largely viewed as the key spokesperson for the Bill. What exactly is the Minister of Canadian Heritage? Created in 1996, the position has picked up additional responsibilities over the years and is most easily compared to the previous role of Minister of Communications. What’s important to know here is that the position is mainly responsible for dealing with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, also known as the CRTC.
The CRTC describes itself as “an administrative tribunal that operates at arm’s length from the federal government.” Basically, what this means is, the CRTC regulates all Canadian broadcasting and telecommunications activities while also enforcing the rules that come along with it. The most well-known set of rules, and those that are central to Bill C-10, are the rules surrounding Canadian Content, also known as CanCon.
CanCon rules in Canada are derived from the Broadcasting Act of Canada. These state that all radio and television broadcasts in Canada must air a certain percentage of content that was, at least in part, written, produced, presented, or otherwise contributed to by Canadians. For radio, 35% percent of each week’s airplay must be content that meets these conditions, and for Canadian television stations, that number is 50% of the evening's broadcast content. Canadian distributors like Rogers and Bell are also required to pay a portion of their revenue into the Canadian Media Fund, which funds the creation of original Canadian content and supports the Canadian media industry.
In November 2020, Guilbeault introduced Bill C-10, the purpose of which was to bring the Broadcasting Act into the modern world, where Canadians are largely consuming music and TV shows, as well as movies, podcasts and all other forms of media, through apps.
What Does This Mean?
Simply put, the aim of the Bill would be to subject all those streaming apps to the same rules and regulations as Canadian TV and radio. The effects of the Bill (if passed) would essentially mean that streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon, Spotify, AppleTV+, etc., would have to pay into the Canadian Media Fund, as well as provide Canadian consumers the aforementioned CanCon percentages.
The worry for many Canadians here who enjoy the oftentimes more diverse international content is that these streamers will simply say ‘no thanks’ and pull their services from Canada altogether. After all, why would American companies fund Canadian-made productions? With the mountains of money each streamer brings in, that cash is typically used to finance new projects they dub ‘original programming.’ They don’t need the extra financial hoops to jump through for a location-based entertainment industry in which they aren’t even based.
As difficult as it might be to adhere to set percentages - there is a far more concerning issue buried in the Bill. An extremely controversial amendment was slipped in, which would extend these regulations to user-generated content. What qualifies as user-generated content? Basically, anything you, ‘the user,’ generates. This includes your posts on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, as well as the podcasts you listen to via Apple podcasts and other platforms. There was an additional amendment added that would allow the CRTC to regulate apps on users’ smartphones as well.
Guilbeault’s press secretary, Camille Gagné-Raynauld, says that the Bill is meant mainly for services that deal with and commission music and video content, as well as “professional series, films and music,” not posts made by individual Canadain citizens. The concern is while that is great if that's the intent - that doesn't rule out the possibility that everyday Canadians’ content could still be regulated should the CRTC decide to do so. As expected, this amendment came under fire, but the Liberal government has been clear they have no intention of reversing the Bill to remove it.
This also means that the CRTC could manipulate what you see online via regulations enforced on your Internet provider. When you go to look something up on Google, the CRTC could influence the search engine to bump websites, that may have originally been on the third or fourth page of your search, to the top results if they are from a Canadian content creator, thereby bypassing the consumer’s expectation of net neutrality.
What’s Next?
With experts and opposing politicians supplying substantial blowback, the Liberal government recently came forward clarifying that they intend to introduce yet another amendment that will make it ‘crystal clear’ that users' social media posts won’t be regulated. This is interesting to note, as seemingly the original amendment won’t be removed, but another will be added, making it curious as to how this will be enforced.
As this situation is ongoing, if you’re an avid user of the Internet (and since you’re reading this, you probably are), we highly recommend you keep an eye on the situation.
We expect that the Big Three will get involved to some degree to advocate for their customers, but as the saying goes, there is strength in numbers. Smaller competitive ISPs like Q Wave are raising their voices to be heard as well, and we encourage anybody who objects to this BIll to do the same.
Help us be a voice for consumers in an ever-changing market. Sign up for Internet services with Q Wave, a local provider, and feel confident knowing that your Internet provider is championing causes that affect you. As an added bonus, sign up for electricity and natural gas services with one of over 20 local Energy Marketers, who are already affecting change in the utilities industry by informing customers about issues that affect them directly.