Affordable Access and the Pursuit of Inclusive Innovation

TORONTO – The Government of Canada is focussed on making high quality and affordable telecommunications services available to Canadians from coast-to-coast-to-coast. Speaking at the Canadian Telecom Summit[1], Navdeep Bains, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, stated that the Government of Canada intends to address the digital divide in Canada. According to Minister Bains, […]

Stop Gaming the System, Gamers: Twitch Sues Over Fake Viewer Bots

As the New Yorker caption goes, “On the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog.” Update that for 2016: on the Internet, nobody knows you’re a bot. Twitch, a video streaming platform that primarily broadcasts people playing video games, has filed a lawsuit in US District Court against those who sell bot software and services that […]

Privacy Commissioner Seeks Public Input on Consent Model

The re-posting of this article is part of a cross-posting agreement with CyberLex. On May 11, 2016, Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien announced the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (“OPC”) would seek public input on the issue of how Canadians can give meaningful consent to the collection, use and disclosure of their personal information […]

Wikimedia vs BUS: How to Regulate Copyright on Public Art in the Digital Age

If you’re thinking about posting on Instagram one more selfie from your recent trip to Sweden, think again. OffeSntlig Konst, an open database where visitors can see descriptions, maps and images of public works, was recently found guilty of copyright infringement by the Supreme Court of Sweden. According to the court ruling, the platform, owned […]

Privacy Injunctions in the Age of the Internet and Social Media: PJS v News Group Newspapers

The reposting of this article is part of a cross-post agreement with Cyberlex. You’re a celebrity and had a threesome. Your partner wasn’t one of them. You want the affair to remain private. You go to a court in England where your family resides and get an interim injunction. It prevents the English press from publishing […]

Privacy Commissioner Targets IoT Health Devices in Sweep

The re-posting of this article is part of a cross-posting agreement with CyberLex. What rumours is your fitness tracker spreading about you? In its latest Internet of Things themed sweep, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada reviews what personal information is being collected about Canadians by “smart” health and fitness devices.

Storytelling in the 21st Century: An Interview with Hal Niedzviecki

Hal Niedzviecki is a prolific novelist and cultural critic, as well as the founder of Broken Pencil. He is in the process of releasing The Archaeologists, his first novel in a decade, in a serialized format online, where it can be read for free prior to publication. We met up for coffee one afternoon to […]

Regulating Speech In Cyberspace: Dr. Emily Laidlaw on Corporate Social Responsibility

From Facebook Groups dedicated to rape jokes to death threats on Twitter, the Internet can seem like a free speech free-for-all. Anyone can say anything, because who is going to stop them? In her presentation, Regulating Speech in Cyberspace, University of Calgary Professor, Dr. Emily Laidlaw answers that question.

Tariffbusters: Does the CBC v SODRAC decision debunk the "Mandatory Tariff Theory

Introduction to the panel After two exciting and lively debates on the principle of technological neutrality (see Sebastian Beck-Watt’s coverage here) and reproduction rights (see Paul Blizzard’s coverage here), IP Osgoode’s Unpack SODRAC symposium turned to a new panel to ‘unpack’ the paragraphs of CBC v SODRAC [SODRAC] concerning the mandatory (or not) nature of tariffs […]

Shifting technological neutrality into reverse: UNPACK SODRAC

Should all copies be treated the same way for the purposes of Copyright? If the CBC’s internal content management system creates incidental copies of audio works during the creation or broadcast of a television program or movie, does it enage the owner's Copyright under s 3(1)(d) of the Copyright Act [the "Act"]? What incentives do Canada’s […]