Open Media's blog

The #ProtectPressFreedom national day of action will tell Trudeau that we are watching closely

OpenMedia.ca — Tue, 31 Jan 2017 00:51:48 +0000

UPDATE: Given the recent Muslim ban in the United States, a National Day of Action against Islamophobia and White Supremacy has been scheduled for February 4th. So this National Day of Action to #ProtectPressFreedom, organized by the CJFE, has now been moved to February 25th.

The rally to support Ben Makuch will still be going ahead on February 6th in Toronto.

Top 10 ways you helped save the Internet in 2016

OpenMedia.ca — Fri, 13 Jan 2017 21:56:04 +0000

Happy 2017, everyone! Here at OpenMedia, our office has that familiar hum again, as our team arrive back from holiday vacations re-energized and up to tackle the challenges of the new year. I know we all really appreciated the chance for some downtime after a hectic December rounded off an especially busy year for us.

Already it's clear that 2017 has lots in store -- on privacy, affordable access, and free expression it's shaping up to be a make or break year for our digital rights. As a community, we'll need to pull out all the stops over the next twelve months to safeguard the free and open Internet we hold dear.

Google v. Equustek at the Supreme Court of Canada: Dispatch from the hearing

OpenMedia.ca — Fri, 13 Jan 2017 20:46:35 +0000

As indescribably nebulous and expansive as the Internet can be, one could compare it to outer space, but never to a vacuum. Almost anything that happens online will eventually find its place in a web of real-world context, whether by reference, implication, cause, or consequence. It is this persistently dual nature of the Internet -- a space clearly its own and separate from the bricks-and-mortar world, yet in every way wrapped up with our everyday, offline lives -- that makes it so difficult for courts and other decision-makers to wrap their minds, and laws, around.

Notice and what? Explaining the copyright 'Notice Trio'

OpenMedia.ca — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 23:45:26 +0000

There's a set of confusing phrases you may have heard floating around the Internet on digital rights or intellectual property blogs -- or maybe it was that one time you tried to actually read the terms and conditions?

Today we're going to dig into what we're calling "The Notice Trio." These ones:

Notice and Notice
Notice and Takedown
Notice and Staydown

2017 is shaping up to be a big year for copyright around the world. If you've been following our work in the European Union, you know that this year is when rubber meets the road for revising the Copyright Directive. (If you haven't yet, join us at SaveTheLink.org!)

Legislating against 'fake news' leads us down a path to censorship

OpenMedia.ca — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 16:33:50 +0000

If you've opened your eyes in the last two months, you'll know that there's a new boogeyman coming to deceive you and your family: the phenomenon of "fake news."

The spectre of fake news has been flooding the airwaves -- with a noticeable uptick since the U.S. federal election in November -- and it seems to be gaining steam with every passing day.

All out against the TPP: Vancouver edition

OpenMedia.ca — Fri, 25 Nov 2016 23:01:43 +0000

Shortly after election night, we received the news that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) was on rocky ground in the United States. As much as most of us were ready to bounce off the walls in face of such a major victory for the people, it didn't seem quite right to declare confidently that the agreement was "dead" just yet.

The truth is that, yes -- the TPP faced a major defeat with the loss of the U.S. support and the statements senior government officials that they would not pursue a vote in the lame duck session of Congress.

Have a link tax question? Join us on Reddit Ask-Me-Anything this Wednesday

OpenMedia.ca — Fri, 25 Nov 2016 22:25:00 +0000

Do you have a question about the "link tax"? What kind of controls will new copyright proposals actually place on content creation? Why do we talk about censorship machines? What is the upload filter? We're inviting you to ask us anything!

On Wednesday, November 30 at 8:00 am PST/5:00 pm CET, OpenMedia's communications specialist Meghan Sali and I will be joining our expert digital rights partners for a Reddit AMA, answering questions about the impending threat of the link tax and increased censorship in the EU. If you're not familiar, AMA means "Ask Me Anything" on Reddit. It’s a popular place for open live Q&As. Check out reddit.com/r/iama where it will be hosted.

Why won't Minister Joly and Minister Bains take the Internet tax off the table?

OpenMedia.ca — Fri, 18 Nov 2016 21:47:09 +0000

This week, I had a chance to observe firsthand how federal Ministers Mélanie Joly and Navdeep Bains are responding to rumours of the "Internet tax" that have taken our corner of the digital rights world by storm.

Spoiler alert: it was not reassuring.

Bill C-51: Canadians won't accept tinkering at the margins

OpenMedia.ca — Thu, 17 Nov 2016 17:26:55 +0000

Bill C-51 is creating new legacies in Canada. Our freedom of expression, our right to privacy, and our personal security are all undergoing frightening shifts.

But perhaps the greatest legacy of C-51 threatens to be this: a succession of failures by successive governments to listen to Canadians.

As Parliament's public safety committee recently concluded a jam-packed week of public consultations on C-51 and privacy, high hopes for this latest promise to finally listen to our feedback faded fast.

Email your MEP: It's time to talk 'Save the Link'

OpenMedia.ca — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 23:34:17 +0000

For the last two years we have been working together to ensure that the new copyright proposals in the EU doesn't crush our free expression online. But when the proposal finally came out last month, it confirmed our worst fears: The link tax is still alive.

'Listen to Canadians, aim higher for Canada, and protect innovation for all' -- OpenMedia at today's #EndDataCaps CRTC hearings

OpenMedia.ca — Thu, 03 Nov 2016 19:27:37 +0000

Your OpenMedia team was at it again this morning, making history at the CRTC hearings in Gatineau, where we mounted a strong defence of net neutrality and called for an end to data caps for Canadian Internet users. Here is your quick summary of today's major events.

Appearing in front of CRTC Chairman, Jean-Pierre Blais and his fellow commissioners, our dream team of Executive Director Laura Tribe, Campaigns Director Josh Tabish, Digital Rights Specialist Katy Anderson, and our incredibly smart external counsel Cynthia Khoo presented a stellar case to end data caps, ban differential pricing (a.k.a. zero-rating), and stand up for Canadian consumers.

Join the #YourNatlSec Twitter chat and tell Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale Canadians want privacy reforms

OpenMedia.ca — Wed, 02 Nov 2016 19:20:42 +0000

If you're one of the millions of Canadians who oppose Bill C-51, you probably have a lot to say to decision-makers about your reasons why.

And this Thursday, November 3 at 8:00 pm EST/5:00 pm PST, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale will be on Twitter holding an "online discussion focusing on national security accountability" using the hashtag #YourNatlSec. It's a huge chance for us to join our voices together and flood the conversation with pro-privacy messages -- will you join us?

Whether it's digital surveillance, censorship, the right to encrypt devices and communications, or government spying, it's so important that we take this chance to tell Goodale what we want to change.

OpenMedia meeting with Public Safety emphasized the importance of a genuine consultation on C-51

OpenMedia.ca — Tue, 01 Nov 2016 22:13:20 +0000

Yesterday, we met with top officials at Public Safety Canada to discuss ongoing privacy concerns shared by Canadians across the country.

Right now, the ministry is running a public consultation about Bill C-51, privacy, and national security, asking for feedback from Canadians on some of the most pressing civil liberties issues of our time.

This week's C-51 hearings may have been flawed, but we made sure your message was heard loud and clear

OpenMedia.ca — Fri, 21 Oct 2016 21:15:56 +0000

It's been a busy week on the privacy front, as we've been working hard to make sure your voices get heard on Bill C-51, the reckless, dangerous, and ineffective spying legislation passed by the previous Conservative government. This week we delivered your voices in both parliamentary and government consultations -- but we had move fast to ensure we could do so.

VMedia vs. Bell Media: What will it take to change the channel on Internet law and policy?

OpenMedia.ca — Fri, 21 Oct 2016 18:21:53 +0000

There is no rest for the wicked -- and there is even less rest for the allegedly wicked who find themselves on the wrong end of a lawsuit from the largest telecommunications company in Canada.

Throw in the Internet, a fading broadcasting model, two federal statutes, and a counter lawsuit, and watch the midnight oil market boom -- all thanks to a small start-up Internet and cable provider, VMedia, in its current battle against TV behemoth Bell Media Inc.

Our last chance to knock down the TPP is here, let's seize it!

OpenMedia.ca — Thu, 20 Oct 2016 20:46:51 +0000

It's been over six months since the TPP was signed by its 12 participant nations back in February and it’s been a heated battle since. We've seen public consultations, protests, political debates and even Jumbotruck stunts, all of which have shaped the conversation on whether this deal is actually to the benefit of signatory countries and their people.

Laura Tribe testifying at C-51 public hearings in Vancouver

OpenMedia.ca — Thu, 20 Oct 2016 16:56:52 +0000

Crucial parliamentary consultations on Bill C-51 kicked off on Monday in Vancouver and your OpenMedia team prepared and attended to testify on behalf of our community and thousands of Canadians who have voiced their strong opposition to this bill. Check out this video to see our Executive Director Laura Tribe giving testimony, explaining exactly why Bill C-51 is reckless, dangerous and ineffective -- and why all Canadians deserve strong privacy rules to keep us safe.

We alslive-tweeteded throughout the session, so in case you missed it, here are some of the highlights of the hearing:

Here's how we can repeal Bill C-51 and win strong privacy rules to keep us safe

OpenMedia.ca — Tue, 11 Oct 2016 19:27:43 +0000

It's here! We've just launched a powerful, one-of-a-kind tool to get your voices on the public record opposing Bill C-51, and in favour of strong privacy rules for Canadians, as part of the government's national security consultation.

You can check out our tool right now at SaveOurSecurity.ca.

It's really important that we get as many people as humanly possible to make their voices heard on this. Over recent years, we've all been witness to an unending stream of revelations about how the privacy of law-abiding Canadians is being eroded by the government.

Will the European Commission's copyright rules spell destruction for Wikimedia?

OpenMedia.ca — Fri, 30 Sep 2016 17:23:20 +0000

The European Commission's Copyright Directive -- full of bad ideas, or full of the worst ideas ever?

That's the question that many of us campaigning for positive copyright reform are asking ourselves in the wake of the Commission's recently announced copyright package.

CRTC goes full-Internet with #EndDataCaps Reddit consultation

OpenMedia.ca — Wed, 28 Sep 2016 18:09:08 +0000

In an exciting move to meet Canadians where they're at, the CRTC has opened a consultation on Reddit, the often-irreverent discussion site, on the future of Canada's Internet.

Our federal telecom decision-maker is asking Canadian redditors to weigh in on "differential pricing" (a.k.a. zero-rating) -- the practice where telcos strike backroom deals to make certain apps data-free to use, but not others, while imposing ridiculously low data caps to force you into their "preferred" services.

Why our work at the Supreme Court matters: A case study

OpenMedia.ca — Tue, 27 Sep 2016 21:39:46 +0000

As many of you already know, OpenMedia is busy working on an intervention on a critical Supreme Court case being heard this winter. We'll be filing our final arguments next week, and we're thrilled to be a part of the conversation around this case, which will have broad implications for the future of access to information and free expression online.

Over 42,000 Canadian voices against data caps are now on the public record at the CRTC

OpenMedia.ca — Thu, 22 Sep 2016 18:25:36 +0000

OpenMedia, with the support of over 42,000 Canadians, yesterday put on the public record our view of what the Internet can, and should, look like in Canada.

CRTC decision paves way for affordable fibre Internet choice, but could have gone further

OpenMedia.ca — Wed, 21 Sep 2016 23:18:28 +0000

A decision by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) this morning will improve fibre Internet choice and affordability. However, some of the details have advocates concerned that the Commission should have gone further to allow independent Internet providers to compete on a level playing field.

EU Commission formally proposes 'Link Tax' to European Parliament as part of new copyright directive

OpenMedia.ca — Thu, 15 Sep 2016 17:42:13 +0000

Today, the European Commission formally submitted its new Copyright Directive to the European Parliament for consideration. Despite opposition from a 100,000-strong network of civil society groups and Internet users, the directive includes plans for a new "Link Tax" -- granting sweeping new powers to publishing giants to charge fees when snippets of text are used in hyperlinks.

New report reveals potential extent of invasive Stingray phone surveillance in Canada

OpenMedia.ca — Wed, 14 Sep 2016 18:39:07 +0000

Big news this week: a comprehensive new report has just revealed the potential extent to which Stingray phone surveillance tools, technically known as IMSI-catchers, are being used in Canada. Stingrays mimic cellphone towers and are designed to collect information from every cellphone in a given area, including geo-location and content data.

OpenMedia is defending your free expression at the Supreme Court

OpenMedia.ca — Tue, 13 Sep 2016 18:23:47 +0000

This is a big moment for the OpenMedia community. For the first time, your OpenMedia team will be formally intervening in a court proceeding to protect the free expression rights of global Internet users --and at the Supreme Court no less!

Our best chance to repeal Bill C-51 is officially here

OpenMedia.ca — Mon, 12 Sep 2016 21:49:55 +0000

Here we go, everyone: the government has just released its official consultation on Bill C-51, privacy, and national security. This consultation represents our last, best chance to get this reckless legislation repealed, and to deliver the strong privacy rights Canadians deserve.

Your OpenMedia team is working hard to ensure your voices won't be ignored. Today we're sharing a new action for you to tell the government to repeal Bill C-51 and strengthen our privacy laws to keep us safe.

Report on TPP's economic cost ignores potential damage to innovation and our digital economy

OpenMedia.ca — Mon, 12 Sep 2016 21:45:15 +0000

A just-published government assessment of the economic impact of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) fails to consider the damage the TPP will cause to Canada's digital economy. The report completely ignores mounting evidence that the TPP's extreme copyright rules will cost jobs, undermine innovation, and cause millions in economic losses.

National security consultation opens door to repealing Bill C-51 but framing of issues raises concerns

OpenMedia.ca — Mon, 12 Sep 2016 21:41:21 +0000

After over 18 months of campaigning, it looks like Canadians finally have a chance to repeal Bill C-51. On September 8, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale and Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould launched a wide-ranging public consultation on C-51 and other privacy and security issues.

However, advocates are expressing concerns about the wording of the consultation, which appears far more focused on addressing the concerns of the police rather than the needs of the public. Questions have also been raised about whether the government will actually follow through and repeal Bill C-51 when Canadians tell it that's what they want.

Publishing giants just hurt the right to link in a disappointing court ruling. Will the EU Commission follow suit?

OpenMedia.ca — Mon, 12 Sep 2016 21:37:06 +0000

In a closely watched decision, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled on September 8 that the mere act of linking to copyrighted content can in and of itself be a breach of copyright. The decision went against the advice of the CJEU's own advocate general, who stated earlier this year that the act of linking should not be illegal.