Tell the Heritage Minister: ​​DEFEND OUR POSTS AND FEEDS!

The Online Streaming Act, Bill C-11 is now law WITHOUT key amendments that would protect your posts and feeds from being regulated by the CRTC.1

But the government can still issue a policy direction to the CRTC that cleans up how Bill C-11 is applied in practice.

Tell Heritage Minister Rodriguez: the CRTC must respect our choices and feeds.

To: Minister Pablo Rodriguez

Now that Bill C-11 has passed, it is time to make good on your promises that Bill C-11 will never be used to regulate my content or restrict my online choices. I am calling on you to make the following principles crystal clear in your policy directive for the CRTC: 

  1. All user-generated content must be clearly and definitively excluded from CRTC control. Everyday users like myself should never be at risk of our content being subject to any broadcasting regulation. 
  2. My feeds and search results should not be manipulated. Please tell the CRTC to use optional and opt-in means to ensure Canadians who want to find CanCon can do so, not force it into everything we do on platforms.
  3. CanCon definitions must be fixed to be fair before C-11 comes into practical effect. Instruct the CRTC to prioritize updating CanCon criteria to support all Canadian creators on equal terms.
  4. Small and foreign platforms should not face illogical content obligations. Instruct the CRTC to plainly and explicitly exclude niche online platforms with limited Canadian audiences from their regulation.

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On April 27, 2023, Bill C-11 passed the Senate, as fundamentally broken as it was when it first left the House. Despite opposition from over 100,000 Canadians, the bill was passed without crucial amendments that would have protected user-generated content and online choices.2,3

Under the new law, user-generated content can be regulated as broadcasting by the CRTC, and our feeds and search results can be overruled to show content that the government deems "officially Canadian."4 Without clear limits on this use, these broad powers put our online freedom and ability to freely view the content we want at risk.

There’s still a chance to fix this. The government's policy direction to the CRTC on HOW they apply Bill C-11 is a crucial opportunity to force them to respect user content and choice. 

Senators have demanded that the government ensure that the policy direction respects user-generated content.5 Let's hold the government to its promise.  A policy direction can give us some safeguards to ensure Bill C-11 does not in practice manipulate and regulate our content, feeds, and search results.

As Canadians, we deserve better than Bill C-11. We demand that our government takes action to protect our online choices and ensure that our posts and feeds are squarely off the table from being regulated.

The Minister of Canadian Heritage’s policy directive is our last chance to ensure that the application of Bill C-11 protects the rights of ALL Canadians. It's time they clean up their act. Let's stand up for our rights and ensure we have control over the content we see and post online. Sign our petition NOW to ensure the CRTC’s policy directive respects our choices and our feeds. 

Sources

  1. Bill C-11 passes without user protections - OpenMedia
  2. Your voice, DELIVERED: 103,000+ petition signers urge Senate to fix Bill C-11! - OpenMedia
  3. UPDATE: Senate passed Bill C-11– what happens now? - OpenMedia
  4. What’s wrong with Bill C-11? An FAQ - OpenMedia
  5. Liberals' online streaming Bill C-11 passes Parliament - CTV

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Press: Matt Hatfield | Phone: +1 (888) 441-2640 ext. 0  | [email protected]