Canada's broadcast regulator has decided to continue its hands-off approach to broadcasting content on the Internet and mobile devices such as iPhones and BlackBerries.
Rather than require that broadcasters adhere to similar rules online as they do on television and radio (such as producing and airing a certain amount of Canadian content) the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission said it will leave the Internet and mobile platforms unregulated.
The CRTC held hearings this year to determine whether the growing world of online and mobile platforms needed guidelines to encourage the production of Canadian content. The regulator was concerned domestic culture could potentially be drowned out online.
However, the regulator said Thursday that attaching rules could stand in the way of new media innovation. The decision follows a similar move almost a decade ago, where the CRTC opted to not regulate new media, a move praised by many in the technology sector.
“We do not believe that regulatory intervention is necessary at this time,” CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein said in a statement. “We found that the Internet and mobile services are acting in a complementary fashion to the traditional broadcasting system. Any intervention on our part would only get in the way of innovation.”
The CRTC said it will monitor evolving trends and will review the decision in five years.
However, in an important move, the regulator said it plans to turn a decision on whether Internet service providers (ISPs) should be treated as broadcasters over to the Federal Court of Appeal to determine.
Any intervention on our part would only get in the way of innovation. — CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein
The debate surrounds whether ISPs, which are mostly the cable or phone companies Canadians buy their Internet service from, should be considered broadcasters given their role in putting material online. If so, they would be regulated under the Broadcasting Act and could put the ISPs in a position where they would be required to support Canadian content, likely financially.
When The CRTC held the debate on new media in Canada, one idea discussed at those hearings was whether ISPs should have to contribute funds to support the creation of Canadian content online. This idea was supported by TV producers and writers, but opposed by the ISPs, including cable companies such as Rogers Communications Inc. RCI.B-T and Shaw Communications Corp. SJR.B-T The ISPs argue they are merely the pipes delivering content online, and are not subject to broadcasting rules.
“The Court will be asked to determine whether the Broadcasting Act should apply to ISPs when they provide access to broadcasting content,” the CRTC said in its statement Thursday.
More to come.
