Fostering a Vibrant Canadian Programming Market: Michael Geist's CRTC Submission Focusing on Net Neutrality and Rejecting New Taxes, Fees or Content Blocking | Unpublished
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Michael Geist
Ottawa, Ontario
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Dr. Michael Geist is a law professor at the University of Ottawa where he holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law. He has obtained a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree from Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, Master of Laws (LL.M.) degrees from Cambridge University in the UK and Columbia Law School in New York, and a Doctorate in Law (J.S.D.) from Columbia Law School.  Dr. Geist is a syndicated columnist on technology law issues with his regular column appearing in the Toronto Star, the Hill Times, and the Tyee.  Dr. Geist is the editor of several copyright books including The Copyright Pentalogy: How the Supreme Court of Canada Shook the Foundations of Canadian Copyright Law (2013, University of Ottawa Press), From “Radical Extremism” to “Balanced Copyright”: Canadian Copyright and the Digital Agenda (2010, Irwin Law) and In the Public Interest:  The Future of Canadian Copyright Law (2005, Irwin Law), the editor of several monthly technology law publications, and the author of a popular blog on Internet and intellectual property law issues.

Dr. Geist serves on many boards, including the CANARIE Board of Directors, the Canadian Legal Information Institute Board of Directors, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation Advisory Board. He has received numerous awards for his work including the Kroeger Award for Policy Leadership and the Public Knowledge IP3 Award in 2010, the Les Fowlie Award for Intellectual Freedom from the Ontario Library Association in 2009, the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Pioneer Award in 2008, Canarie’s IWAY Public Leadership Award for his contribution to the development of the Internet in Canada and he was named one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 in 2003.  In 2010, Managing Intellectual Property named him on the 50 most influential people on intellectual property in the world and Canadian Lawyer named him one of the 25 most influential lawyers in Canada in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Click here to view Dr. Geist’s full CV.

 

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Fostering a Vibrant Canadian Programming Market: Michael Geist's CRTC Submission Focusing on Net Neutrality and Rejecting New Taxes, Fees or Content Blocking

December 19, 2017

Last month I posted on the responses to the CRTC’s consultation on the future of Canadian programming, which yielded over 200 submissions that envision extensive Internet regulation and taxation. The CRTC has published a reference document for the second stage of its consultation that runs until January 31, 2018.  My full submission for the first stage of the consultation can be found here.

I argue that the existing Canadian system is working well with significant new foreign investment in Canadian programming replacing declining investment from traditional sources such as broadcasters. Moreover, the audio market is experiencing remarkable growth with Internet streaming revenues in Canada far outpacing that found in many other countries.

With the market enjoying great success, I argue that the appropriate regulatory response should emphasize the ongoing shift to a digital market for audio and video programming by supporting regulations that foster increased global competitiveness of Canadian services and creators. These includes prioritizing affordable Internet access, a strong affirmation of net neutrality, the removal of outdated regulations that foster a “walled garden” style approach in Canada, and a rejection of new taxes, fees or content blocking schemes. The full submission is available here.

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