News

CRTC Decision on Bell throttling renews calls for Net Neutrality protections

- 2008-11-20 -
In a decision that has disappointed many internet users and public interest groups, the CRTC has found that Bell Canada's controversial throttling of competitor P2P traffic is neither anti-competitive nor unjustly discriminatory. The decision has renewed calls for Canada's policymakers to protect "net neutrality," the principle that all online content and services should be treated equally without discrimination.
- SaveOurNet.ca News Release
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CRTC launches Public Proceeding on ISP Throttling

- 2008-11-20 -

Having decided that Bell's throttling of competitor P2P traffic does not violate existing net neutrality rules, the CRTC has initiated a new proceeding to examine the issue of ISP traffic-shaping practices more broadly. The CRTC is seeking more evidence regarding the effects of traffic-shaping and alternative solutions to network congestion problems. Written comments from the public are due by Feb.16, 2009. An oral hearing will be held in July 2009.

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Throne Speech Promises more Copyright

- 2008-11-19 -

The Conservative government's Throne Speech promises - as expected - that the 40th Parliament will see copyright legislation: "Cultural creativity and innovation are vital not only to a lively Canadian cultural life, but also to Canada’s economic future. Our Government will proceed with legislation to modernize Canada’s copyright laws and ensure stronger protection for intellectual property."

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Opposition to Ontario Enhanced Drivers' Licence fails to stall legislation

- 2008-11-19 -

Despite a surge of public opposition to Bill 85 (the Photo Card Act), the Ontario Legislature yesterday moved ahead with plans to introduce "enhanced drivers' licences" for use at the border, in accordance with standards set by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The initiative has been criticized as unnecessarily privacy-intrusive and insecure.

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B.C. court rules mere linking not republication

- 2008-10-28 -

In an important win for free speech online, a B.C. court has ruled that merely linking to defamatory content on another website does not create liability, as long as the hyperlink is not made in a context that endorses the defamatory material. The judge stated "although a hyperlink provides immediate access to material published on another website, this does not amount to republication of the content on the originating site. This is especially so as a reader may or may not follow the hyperlinks provided."

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Pension Appeals Board defies Privacy Commissioner

- 2008-10-23 -

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) has found that CIPPIC's allegations regarding violation of the Privacy Act by the Pension Appeals Board (PAB) were well-founded, and that the PAB continues to violate the Act by using actual rather than randomly-assigned initials in place of individual names in the decisions it posts online.
more

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Databroker requires consent, argues CIPPIC

- 2008-10-15 -

In comments filed today with the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, CIPPIC argues that infoCANADA, a company that matches geo-demographic data with White Pages listings to create and sell consumer lists, is required by law to obtain consent from the consumers on its lists.
Case summary and documents

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"Internet for Everyone" campaign launched

- 2008-10-06 -

Telecommunities Canada today launched the "Internet for Everyone" campaign, calling for a comprehensive and innovative federal ICT strategy to bring open, high-quality, affordable Internet connections into every home, school, library and community center in Canada, and to offer support for community programs that enable effective use of such tools.
Campaign News Release

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Canadians flood new "Do Not Call" Registry

- 2008-10-03 -

A deluge of calls and website requests to the new national "Do Not Call" registry established by the CRTC overwhelmed the service on day one of operations, as Canadians expressed their eagerness to stop unsolicited telemarketing phone calls at the rate of over 1500 calls per minute. The new registry has been criticized for its limited scope, leading many people to sign up to Michael Geist's open source ioptout.ca service as well.

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Diverse coalition calls for Net Neutrality in Canada

- 2008-10-01 -

A report released by members of the SaveOurNet.ca Coalition today dispels the myths put forward by the dominant Internet Service Providers and demonstrates that an open Internet is the way forward if we want social, cultural and economic innovation in Canada.
News Release

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