Regulating OTT could set ‘dangerous precedent’: Google

GATINEAU, Que. — A move by the CRTC to regulate over-the-top (OTT) video platforms could set a precedent for regulators in other countries, a Google Inc. lawyer told the commission on the first day of its two-week Let’s Talk TV hearing on the future of television services in Canada. “The extension of conventional broadcasting regulation to online platforms would certainly be a significant impediment to the development of the platforms,” Google Canada counsel Jason Kee told the commission. “The actions of the Canadian broadcast regulators would have that impact globally?” CRTC Chairman Jean-Pierre Blais asked Kee. “It actually sets a potentially extremely dangerous precedent. It depends on the specific nature of the regime that would be constructed,” Kee responded. Kee noted that it’s been suggested in documents submitted as part of the consultation process that OTT platforms should be required to make Canadian-content contributions and be subject to Canadian-content requirements. “If Canada started doing this, it is not difficult to imagine other jurisdictions would quickly follow suit,” he said. “If other jurisdictions started looking to implement a similar regime, in each case, the content of domestic creators being privileged over that of non-domestic creators, then that would actually start adversely impacting them.” In his opening statement, Kee said that the CRTC should not regulate OTT services, such as its YouTube platform, arguing that millions of hours of Canadian content is uploaded to YouTube each year, and that the service allows Canadian creators to reach an international audience. He said their success shows Canadian content is successful online without regulation. “It is clear that, in the online environment, the highly dynamic market for content is obtaining the core policy objectives of the Canadian broadcasting system and that regulation is not warranted,” Kee said. During Kee’s appearance, Blais took issue with Kee’s inability to provide more detail about the Canadian content available and uploaded to YouTube. “I seem to find no evidence or research that supports exactly what kind of Canadian content, or content made by Canadians, we’re talking about. And I find that a bit surprising from a company that prides itself on being the information and web-search expert,” Blais said. Kee responded that, in an online environment, such detailed information is often not disclosed for competitive reasons. Blais noted that CRTC rules allow for the filing of information in confidence, and asked whether information about the number of videos uploaded to YouTube from Canada is available. Kee confirmed that it was, though in response to whether he would be able to provide that information prior to the Sept. 19 end of hearings, he said he would “have to have internal discussions” about providing it. “It’s a regulatory process. And I can understand that you don’t necessarily share information with the public at large. That’s why we have rules and undertakings,” Blais said. He added that “right now, we only have anecdotal evidence” and no knowledge of what language that content is in, whether it’s scripted or not, or “whether it’s akin to kitten videos or something more substantial.” In response to a question about whether the content available on YouTube is part of a single broadcasting system referred to in the Broadcasting Act, Kee said that “we regard online platforms like YouTube as being distinct, largely because the nature of the business is very different. They’re global, they’re interactive, they operate on a massive scale. The business model has a superficial similarity, but in other respects is very different.” The Wire Report reported last week that while the idea of potentially regulating OTT services was raised by the CRTC early on in the Talk TV consultation process, the regulator later moved to steer discussion away from that issue, though experts noted it was bound to come up during the hearing. In his opening remarks Monday morning, Blais said that Canadian TV finds itself “at a crossroads” and that “the regulatory model is not well set up accommodate our modern realities,” noting that the viewing of traditional television among 18- to 34-year-olds is declining. “While the current regulatory model was appropriate to achieve the objectives set out in the Broadcasting Act based on past technology and past viewing habits, it has grown into a complex and, at times, unwieldy framework,” he said. “How Canadians interact with television has changed. Broadcasting has changed. It’s time the regulatory model also changed.” In late August, the CRTC released a working document meant to focus its questioning during the hearing; while OTT services were not mentioned in that document, pick-and-pay TV, a concept previously backed by both the CRTC and the federal government, was put up for further discussion. Renée Duplantis, an economic adviser for the Competition Bureau, told the hearing Monday that it is unclear how pick-and-pay might affect consumers, though the bureau supports the move to such a system. “Economic results on unbundling in the broadcasting industry are mixed. There have been several studies that say moving to à la carte or unbundling would be harmful to consumers, but there have also been studies that say consumers would benefit from this,” Duplantis said. Duplantis added that the bureau is undecided on which specific system should be put in place. “The bureau’s view is that the move to increased consumer choice and flexibility is very positive, and we believe that is the driving factor here,” she said. “We’ve not … determined whether straight à la carte versus pick-and-pay versus build-your-own-package is the right way to go, but we do fully support the increased choice consumers will have under these plans.” — With reporting by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca and editing by Derek Abma at dabma@thewirereport.ca

Regulating OTT could set ‘dangerous precedent’: Google

Broadcast | September 8, 2014

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Regulating OTT could set ‘dangerous precedent’: Google

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