The CRTC cannot direct internet service providers (ISPs) to implement age verification techniques on pornographic websites in Canada, because the regulator must adhere to the...
The Canadian government should broaden its consultation over its online harms bill, a Wednesday Canadian Internet Governance Forum (CIGF) panel hosted a 90-minute discussion on the topic of Regulating Online Harms in Canada.
One year ago the Trudeau government introduced...
An initiative explored this past month in a Senate...
An organization with the aim of keeping an open and affordable internet is...
The House of Commons Heritage committee has moved...
As the House of Commons Ethics committee considers the protection and privacy of individuals online, advocates criticized its lack of consideration for sex workers Monday and...
The federal government has launched a consultation document to solicit feedback on whether or not it should allow internet service providers to unilaterally block certain websites from users in order to protect copyright holders.
In a Wednesday release, Heritage...
The Communications Security Establishment (CSE) has argued that the average Canadian’s cybersecurity...
Telecommunications companies big and small have expressed opposition to a...
The Internet Society (ISOC) has highlighted what it says are “significant risks” in the CRTC’s proposal for Canadian ISPs to be required to block malicious botnet traffic on their networks....
In an ongoing dispute between Rogers Communications Inc. and some of its third party internet access (TPIA) wholesale customers over COVID-19-related internet traffic management practices (ITMPs),...
BCE Inc., Quebecor Inc.'s Groupe TVA, and Rogers Communications Inc. — the trio of companies behind Canada's first ever website-blocking order — have submitted a draft order adding new domains to the Federal Court. In a...
Both the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) and the Canadian...
Fresh documents are shedding light on how Canada’s first piracy case...
In a precedent-setting decision, a Federal Court judge has ordered internet...
In the event Federal Court allows a site-blocking application brought by three of the country’s largest broadcasters, Distributel Communications Ltd. wants to ensure...
The big three telecoms are telling the CRTC that their practice of slowing...
The CRTC has asked several telecoms to explain how their throttling of wireless speeds once customers exceed their data allotments doesn’t violate the commission’s regulatory policy on internet...
Canada’s current laws implicitly protecting net neutrality are sufficient...
The CRTC is formally asking the federal government to make one regulatory...
OTTAWA – Conservative senators doubled-down on a previously-raised concern with the makeup of the Liberal government's expert panel reviewing Canada's communications laws, telling panel members testifying before the Senate's transport and communications committee Wednesday...
The CRTC is reviewing Canadian ISPs’ traffic management and differential pricing practices for compliance with its net neutrality framework, according to a letter sent out by the commission requesting specific information from...
OTTAWA -- Lawmakers need to make net neutrality a major priority and...
The federal government is affirming its commitment to enforcing the...
TORONTO — If there was a single point of agreement among panelists representing both small and big...
A motion asking the government to consider enshrining the concept of net...
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s repeal of its 2015 net neutrality rules will take effect...
The House ethics committee said that if the CRTC rules in favour of a...
A decades-old organization that is pushing for a multilateral approach to decision-making on the future...
OTTAWA — Representatives from Canada’s biggest telecoms argued that flexibility in Canada’s net neutrality framework will be necessary with the advent of 5G, as they...
OTTAWA — The idea of of explicitly making net neutrality part of...
A broad coalition made up of Canada’s largest telecoms and broadcasters, as well as groups representing...
Opposition leader Andrew Scheer has said he supports net neutrality, despite statements by his Innovation...
The United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted 3-2...
Opposition leader Andrew Scheer isn’t going public with his position on the issue of net neutrality, even as two members of his caucus — both former Industry ministers — are publicly disagreeing on the question.
On Saturday, Innovation critic Maxime Bernier tweeted...
In a release on Tuesday, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Ajit Pai announced his plan to end net neutrality rules established during Barack Obama’s presidency. Pai’s goals, outlined in a statement, include...
The United States Senate confirmed Monday current Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Ajit...
Various groups praised the promised investment in production and promotion...
The CRTC’s incoming vice-chairwoman of broadcasting, Caroline Simard, has...
On Wednesday, major internet and tech companies teamed up to rally against...
Major internet-based companies and organizations are preparing to participate in a Wednesday campaign...
Net neutrality is a digital pillar in citizens’ right to free expression, according to a report by the United Nations special rapporteur, or independent expert, on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion...
BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc. and Telus Corp. are trying to lure customers of Quebecor...
Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron is asking the CRTC for more time to comply with the decision killing its Unlimited Music service last month, when it was found to be out of step with the concurrent decision on differential pricing practices that essentially banned zero-rating....
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is seeking comment on its...
The growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) will force a new perspective on net neutrality and zero-rating, a report from the Montreal Economic Institute argues. “The development of the Internet of Things will bring to the...
A U.S. appeal court said Monday it won’t reconsider an appeal of the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) net neutrality rules. In July 2016, CTIA-The Wireless Association asked the court to...
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will introduce a proposal next month for a new plan to replace the existing Open Internet order, also referred to as Title II, Chairman Ajit Pai said Wednesday. Speaking at an...
The CRTC’s decision Thursday to ban most forms of zero-rating means telecoms will have to rely on service in order to stand out from the competition, analysts said. The new rules that prohibit differentiated pricing practices (DPPs) that aren’t data-agnostic and aren’t offered to all customers, among other stipulations, mean Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron won’t be able to keep operating its Unlimited Music service. “In our view, this is a...
As the CRTC banned most forms of differential pricing practices Thursday — including declaring that telecoms can’t pick and chose Internet content to zero-rate and...
A new report from broadband equipment maker Sandvine Corp. says that some Internet users are avoiding data charges by disguising Internet traffic to look like zero-rated content. “Enticed by the potential of receiving...
The CRTC may very well complete the record on net neutrality policy in Canada when it releases its decision Thursday afternoon on differential pricing practices,...
Facebook Inc. is increasing its government relations presence in Ottawa, with three new registrations filed with the lobbying commissioner’s office last month. According to the federal lobbyists’...
On May 27, members of the Conservative Party of Canada will select who will succeed former prime minister Stephen Harper as permanent leader of the party, relieving interim Opposition leader Rona...
The CRTC’s review of the Wireless Code “generates regulatory risk across the industry,” with the biggest potential threat being mandating the separation of device costs from...
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said Friday it won’t “focus on denying Americans free data” going forward, as it ended its investigation into zero-rated offerings. New chairman Ajit Pai said in...
Ajit Pai has been picked by the new U.S. president to lead the United States' telecom regulator, Pai announced on Twitter Monday. In a statement, Pai said he looks “forward to working with the new Administration,...
A branch of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said it had concerns with the differential pricing practices used by Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. as it wrapped up a review of sponsored data and zero-rating. A report published Wednesday by the United States regulator’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau said that “in particular, sponsored data offerings by vertically integrated mobile providers may harm consumers and competition...
A tepid launch of Amazon.com Inc.’s Prime video streaming service in Canada doesn’t seem likely to pose a challenge to existing players in the Canadian streaming market — for...
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Tom Wheeler is leaving his post as head of the United States regulator on Jan. 20, 2017. Wheeler said in a written statement Thursday that serving as chairman...
The CRTC has suspended a Part 1 application by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) asking the commission to declare as unconstitutional a Quebec law that would force providers to block certain online gambling...
A branch of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is engaging in a “wild goose chase” by investigating a pair of companies’ zero-rating offers, according to one commissioner....
Jeffrey Eisenach has been named to U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s “landing team,” with responsibility for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), according to a Monday press release. Mark Jamison, director of the Public Utility Research Center at the University of Florida, was also named to the team and will focus on the FCC. The landing team will play a part in the transition from the current U.S. administration. Eisenach, who has consulted with Canadian telecom companies, has been rumored to be a top candidate to replace current FCC chairman Tom...
OTTAWA — With more than six months left in his term as CRTC chairman, Jean-Pierre Blais isn’t ready to start using the word “legacy” in relation to his term as head of the Canadian regulator, but in a...
An organization representing four-dozen major online-based companies has reached out to president-elect Donald Trump, congratulating him on his victory while proposing digital policy planks for his administration to consider....
GATINEAU, Que. — Those who innovate shouldn’t be penalized because their competitors can’t keep up, the CRTC heard Friday from representatives of the telecom company...
GATINEAU, Que. — While Rogers Communications Inc. said it generally does not support differential pricing practices (DPP), it suggested Wednesday that the regulator should stay flexible in its approach given...
GATINEAU — The CRTC shouldn’t take the non-participation in this week’s hearing by content providers who might eventually benefit from zero-rating and other differential pricing practices as non-interest, a...
GATINEAU — On the first day of the CRTC’s hearing on differential pricing practices, a consortium representing small telecoms asked the CRTC to allow but regulate the practice of zero-rating,...
Users of Reddit Inc.’s website have largely railed against differential pricing in a discussion initated by the CRTC, with an overwhelming number of comments on the social platform expressing...
Even among those who support differential pricing practices such as zero rating and sponsoring data, there isn’t a consensus as to how they should be regulated by CRTC, according to additional...
The CRTC will host a public discussion on differential pricing practices for Internet data plans on Reddit Inc.’s website, the regulator said Monday. The commission said in a notice it will host the discussion forum on the /r/Canada subreddit “to encourage individuals who might not otherwise participate in this proceeding to share their points of view.” The topic will run from 9 a.m. EST on Sept. 26 to 8 p.m. on Sept. 30. A public hearing will be held on Oct. 31 in Gatineau. The commission said it will try to...
Reponses filed with the CRTC last week by consumer, advocacy and industry groups indicate that all parties support the CRTC’s preliminary view on Quebec’s Bill 74, which would block access...
The CRTC received nine Internet traffic management practices (ITMP) complaints in the three months ended June 30, bringing the yearly total (since July 1, 2015) to 33. The quarterly number of complaints was the same as the...
Much of the divide between the two leading candidates for the U.S. presidency is that one has articulated policies on technology and innovation while the other has not, according to a new report by Information Technology and...
The CRTC is looking for input on a preliminary view it’s taken regarding the legality of blocking of Internet content, as it considers how to deal with a complaint about a Quebec law mandating...
The Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) has put out guidelines that clarify its rules on net neutrality, including zero-rating. The guidelines will serve as guidance to regulatory authorities in the implementation of the E.U.’s net neutrality rules, approved last year, BEREC said in a press release. “Specifically, this includes the obligations to closely monitor and ensure compliance with the rules to safeguard equal and...
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains took questions from Twitter Inc.’s Toronto office Friday afternoon, in a question-and-answer session during...
An American association representing wireless service providers is asking for the United States federal court to rehear and re-evaluate June’s decision upholding the Federal Communication...
The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) has filed a court challenge to a Quebec law that would force telecoms to block some illegal gambling websites, telling the court...
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) is asking the CRTC to deem as unconstitutional a Quebec law compelling Internet service providers (ISPs) to block certain online gambling websites. In a new Part 1 application...
The Federal Court of Appeal has upheld the CRTC’s ban on BCE Inc.’s zero-rated mobile-TV plans, a year and a half after the commission ruled the company couldn’t exempt the service from data caps. In a...
A U.S. appeals court has denied an industry appeal of the Federal Communications Commission’s net neutrality rules. The court issued a decision Tuesday in favour of a framework the FCC imposed last year,...
Advocacy group OpenMedia is calling on the CRTC to end data caps, which it says are a result of a “broken telecom market,” ahead of a commission hearing on zero-rating. In a Tuesday press...
TORONTO — Executives from Canada’s telecom companies took aim at a new bill by the Quebec government that would force Internet service providers (ISPs) to block some gambling websites...
The CRTC has extended the deadline for comments in its review of “differential pricing practices.” An original deadline of June 17 for the filing of interventions regarding zero rating and sponsored data has been rescheduled to July 4, following a request from the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC). According to a CRTC notice published Friday, PIAC “submitted that parties have less than a month to prepare their interventions, while a significant number of other Commission proceedings that they need to prepare for are also ongoing.”...
New Quebec legislation forcing Internet service providers (ISPs) to block certain online gambling websites from being accessed in the province could put smaller ISPs out of business, industry reps...
Zero-rated services are in the public interest and “unlikely” to stand in the way of an open Internet, according to a new report from an American think tank, which recommends that U.S....
CRTC commissioner Raj Shoan has filed another court challenge regarding the ability of CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais to assign commissioners to panels that make decisions on issues before the...
Net neutrality advocates welcomed the CRTC’s launch of a new consultation on “differential pricing practices” for both wireline and wireless data plans Wednesday, a process that will see a public hearing kick off...
If communications providers stick to principles of transparency and openness, zero-rated and sponsored data services can stay out of regulatory and consumer trouble, according to a report released Monday by Sandvine Inc. “There is no single definition of Network Neutrality globally and one is unlikely to emerge in the near future. Operating within that limitation, sponsored data and application zero-rating can be tailored to meet the needs of Network Neutrality, however it is defined (or not) in a region,” Waterloo, Ont.-based Sandvine, which helps companies establish...
OTTAWA — A panel discussion on net neutrality Friday dug into whether zero-rating can help or harm market competition, with Ted Woodhead, senior vice-president of regulatory affairs at Telus Corp. taking issue with the...
T-Mobile U.S. Inc. announced Thursday it has added more video providers to its unlimited mobile video streaming service, Binge On, including Google Inc.’s Youtube, Google Play Movies and Discovery GO. It said in a press...
BCE Inc.'s appeal against a CRTC decision banning the provision of mobile-TV services that are not subject to regular data charges was heard by the Federal Court of Appeal in Toronto on Tuesday, and the court is expected to render a decision some time in the coming months. Almost a year ago,...
Verizon Communication Inc. announced Tuesday it is introducing a new sponsored data service, called FreeBee Data, to help businesses drive better consumer engagement without cutting into...
The CRTC is asking Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron to answer 16 questions regarding its Unlimited Music service, including why it chose to launch a zero-rating service rather than increase data caps....
Tom Wheeler, the chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), told reporters Tuesday a service that exempts some video from wireless data caps is “highly innovative and highly competitive,” Bloomberg...
Facebook Inc. said in a press release Monday that “more than 60 new services are available” on its Free Basics app in the 29 countries where citizens can access it. “Free Basics is now available to more than one...
The European Commission voted Tuesday to set net neutrality rules for the first time in the European Union law. The new law, which was detailed in a fact sheet on the commission’s website, will include no blocking or...
An undue-preference complaint against a music streaming service offered by Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron has Rogers Communications Inc. arguing that zero-rating the service is a net-neutrality violation, while Telus Corp. is supporting Videotron and saying the service does not harm consumers. Rogers argued the pricing structure of the service amounts to an undue preference under the Telecommunications Act, and is contrary to the CRTC’s net-neutrality rules and regulations on overage charges in the commission’s wireless code. “The decision to favour certain types of audio...