CRTC Wants Bigger Role In The Online Media

As more and more Canadians shift from traditional CRTC-regulated media to the online media sources, the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission is looking for the ways to address the new trend.

They claim that "Canadian participation in the new media is falling behind". I wonder how did they figure that out. Did they measure Canadian participation by comparing the number of .ca domain names with the .com-s? Did they go by the IP addresses of each site, checking out where the actual server is located? Or maybe, by saying "Canadian" they only mean government-funded politically-correct Liberal and secular?

Either way, the CRTC believes there's a problem. So they were quick to come up with a report entitled "Perspectives on Canadian Broadcasting in New Media" and they are seeking public input to determine the scope of next year's meetings on which broadcasting in new media will be discussed. According to the CRTC chairman, the intention is not to regulate the new media but to study it and "to propose measures that would support the continued achievement of the Broadcasting Act’s objectives."

Be that as it may, it is hard to imagine that the CRTC would devote such time and money to conduct public consultations unless it believed that there was a regulatory role for it to play with respect to the Internet. It is likely that the CRTC is considering some form of oversight and regulation with respect to Canadian broadcasting content over the Internet in the same manner it oversees and regulates such content vis-à-vis television and radio.

As such, the outcome of the above noted hearings, expected by late 2009, could conceivably limit the access Canadians now enjoy to online broadcasters and Internet-based radio stations. Another outcome may be a levy charged to Internet service providers (ISPs) to pay for the creation of more “Canadian” content online. Such a levy would effectively be another tax on Canadians as ISPs would likely pass the cost of the levy onto individual subscribers in the form of higher Internet subscription bills.

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Then some ISP might as well come up with an option for the users to opt-out of the levy in exchange for having their connection blocked against visits to YouTube and to other media sources alike. In return the ISPs would offer CRTC-approved levy-free content through their online media channels. (Which already benefit from higher traffic priority.) The next step would be expanding the filter to include "hate sites" and other content deemed inappropriate - with the filtering option changing from "opt-in" to "opt-out". Who can guarantee it's never going to happen?

So here's my feedback on the CRTC proposal: It's time to strip the CRTC of its authority to govern content on media broadcasts. The CRTC should become a mere technical body whose sole responsibility would be managing television and radio frequencies so that CN trainmen don't end up getting some "Crazy Rock FM" on their walkie talkies. And the law-abiding citizens should have the right to decide for themselves what to watch.