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Trust by Paul Sableman https://flic.kr/p/h3f5ts CC BY 2.0

The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 214: Erin Millar on Trust in Media and the Implementation of the Online News Act

Questions about trust in the media have escalated in Canada in recent months as with each error or questionable tweet, there is seemingly an inevitable chorus of concerns that raise doubts about the implications of government regulation and funding of the media. So where is the Online News Act at right now? What of the new collective designed to distribute the $100 million that Google agreed to pay in return for an exemption from mandated arbitration? And what can be done about the mounting trust deficit?

Erin Millar wears several hats including as the CEO & Co-founder of Indiegraf and the interim board chair of the Canadian Journalism Collective, the collective that was picked by Google to administer the $100 million distribution. She joins the Law Bytes podcast in a personal capacity – she isn’t speaking on anyone’s behalf – to talk about the latest Bill C-18 developments and what measures might help address trust in Canadian media.

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September 30, 2024 — 5 comments — Podcasts
Our Beloved Phone Company by Dennis S. Hurd (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/8v9Mm9

The Bill on Canada’s Digital Policy Comes Due: Blocked News Links, Cancelled Sponsorship, Legal Challenges, and Digital Ad Surcharges

Canada’s digital policy has seemingly long proceeded on the assumption that tech companies would draw from an unlimited budget to write bigger cheques to meet government regulation establishing new mandated payments. Despite repeated warnings on Bills C-11 (Internet streaming), C-18 (online news), and a new digital services tax that tech companies – like anyone else – were more likely to respond by adjusting their Canadian budgets or simply passing along new costs to consumers, the government and the bill’s supporters repeatedly dismissed the risks that the plans could backfire. Yet today the bill from those digital policy choices is coming due: legal and trade challenges, blocked news links amid decreasing trust in the media, cancellation of sponsorship deals worth millions of dollars that will be devastating to creators, and a new Google digital advertising surcharge that kicks in next week to offset the costs of the digital services tax.

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September 25, 2024 — 13 comments — News
Porn from bohemia cafe by Anthony Easton CC BY 2.0 https://flic.kr/p/4EnM4w

The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 213: Elaine Craig on Mainstreaming Porn and Why Bill S-210 May Make Matters Worse

Bill S-210, the controversial age verification bill which purports to limit access to pornography for those under 18, could be headed for a final vote of approval in the House of Commons within the next couple of weeks. Much of the concern with the bill has focused on the privacy and free speech implications of mandating the technology and opening the door to website blocking. Yet often missing from the debate has been a deeper, more nuanced examination of pornography including distinctions between unlawful and so-called awful but lawful content, the role and responsibility of pornography platforms, and alternatives to the S-210 reliance on blocking and age verification technologies. That gap in the debate has now been filled by Professor Elaine Craig of the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University in her new book, Mainstreaming Porn. Professor Craig joins the Law Bytes podcast to discuss the book, the massive influence of porn platforms, the problems with Bill S-210, and the legal mechanisms she thinks would best address the issue. 

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September 23, 2024 — 1 comment — Podcasts
Protests against prorogation in Calgary by Mark Heard from Canada, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 212: Matt Hatfield on the State of Canadian Digital Policy as Politicians Return from the Summer Recess

Parliament resumes after a summer break today. While digital policies receded into the background over the past few months, the political intrigue of by-elections and a minority government without an NDP deal will be accompanied by questions about what happens to Bill C-63, Canada’s online harms bill, Bill C-27, the privacy and AI reform bill, Bill S-210, the age verification bill, and a myriad of other regulatory and policy issues. Matt Hatfield is Executive Director of Open Media, one of Canada’s leading digital rights organizations. He joins the Law Bytes podcast to break down where things stand and what other digital policies may command attention.

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September 16, 2024 — 0 comments — Podcasts
TED2013_0042956_D41_7031 by James Duncan Davidson https://flic.kr/p/dYpvQE CC BY-NC 2.0

The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 211: Carlos Affonso Souza on the Unprecedented Brazilian Court Order Blocking Twitter/X and VPN Use to Access the Service

The Law Bytes podcast is back with a deep dive into a high profile case coming out of Brazil, where Twitter or X has been under a blocking order this month. Not only is the service blocked, but individuals face significant fines if they try to circumvent the order to access the service by using a VPN. The case raises many questions about enforcing domestic laws, political and tech power, and the impact on individual rights and freedoms. Carlos Affonso Souza is a law professor at the State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ) and PUC-Rio, where he specializes in Law and Technology. He is the co-founder and Director of  Institute for Technology and Society of Rio de Janeiro (ITS Rio). He joins me on the podcast to discuss the case and its implications.

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September 9, 2024 — 5 comments — Podcasts
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