Canadian Radio And Television Commission Decides To Leave Internet Alone ... for now
I suppose that Canadian political bloggers of all partisan stripes should be somewhat pleased that the CRTC has decided to leave the internet alone .. at least for now.
"Federal broadcast officials will continue to leave the Internet unregulated, ruling yesterday to keep it outside the gamut of rules Ottawa applies to conventional media--for now.
Following months of deliberation, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) said it would not impose the same regulation it applies to television and radio, such as the amount of domestic content that must be aired, on broadcasters online or Internet service providers.
"While broadcasting in new media is growing in importance, we do not believe that regulatory intervention is necessary at this time," said Konrad von Finckenstein, the CRTC's chairman.
"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 understands the Internet's power and ability to change our lives because it's not regulated and because its not taxed."
The ruling strikes down the threat of a potential tax on ISPs that would have subsidized the production of Canadian content.
Still, the CRTC left the window open on future regulation, while calling on the Federal Court of Appeal to clarify the status of service providers under the Broadcasting Act."
Calgary Herald
"Federal broadcast officials will continue to leave the Internet unregulated, ruling yesterday to keep it outside the gamut of rules Ottawa applies to conventional media--for now.
Following months of deliberation, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) said it would not impose the same regulation it applies to television and radio, such as the amount of domestic content that must be aired, on broadcasters online or Internet service providers.
"While broadcasting in new media is growing in importance, we do not believe that regulatory intervention is necessary at this time," said Konrad von Finckenstein, the CRTC's chairman.
"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 understands the Internet's power and ability to change our lives because it's not regulated and because its not taxed."
The ruling strikes down the threat of a potential tax on ISPs that would have subsidized the production of Canadian content.
Still, the CRTC left the window open on future regulation, while calling on the Federal Court of Appeal to clarify the status of service providers under the Broadcasting Act."
Calgary Herald
