Internet and Telecom

Privacy Commissioner of Canada Philippe Dufresne takes part in a news conference in Ottawa, on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. Dufresne and a government official are warning legislators to dramatically narrow the scope of a Senate bill proposing to block minors from accessing “sexually explicit material” online, warning it could apply to streaming services like Netflix. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Internet age verification law could apply to Netflix, privacy czar says

Officials weigh on legislation aimed at preventing kids from accessing ‘sexually explicit material’

 

Digital literacy and Internet safety education specialist Brandon Laur, CEO of The White Hatter says B.C.’s agreement with four big social media around preventing online harm and sharing information about wildfires “probably” represents the “best outcome.” But he also acknowledges problems with the future role of social media companies in sharing information about wildfires, given that Meta, the parent company of Facebook, continues to block Canadian news. (AP Photo/Paula Ulichney)

B.C.’s deal with social media giants ‘probably’ represents ‘best outcome’: expert

Brandon Laur, CEO of The White Hatter, acknowledges problems with agreement’s impact on local news

 

The area has no cell service, though Telus has posted a notice saying it “will continue to invest to bring you the latest connectivity, including our next-generation 5G network.” Photo by Marc Kitteringham/Campbell River Mirror

Safety options floated in wake of B.C. highway’s payphone closures

Highway part of Vancouver Island trunk radio system, cell service is spotty

  • May 17, 2024

 

FILE - Taylor Swift arrives at the world premiere of the concert film “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” in Los Angeles on Oct. 11, 2023. Swift’s Instagram message encouraging her 283 million followers to register to vote was nominated for a Webby in the best creator or influencer category. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce earn Webby nominations for internet content

International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences announced the nominees on Tuesday

FILE - Taylor Swift arrives at the world premiere of the concert film “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” in Los Angeles on Oct. 11, 2023. Swift’s Instagram message encouraging her 283 million followers to register to vote was nominated for a Webby in the best creator or influencer category. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
<div>Fewer than half of Canadians believe the federal government’s plan to regulate social media sites will make platforms safer, a new survey suggests. Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Arif Virani responds to questions from reporters in the Foyer of the House of Commons on Parliament Hill after Question Period, in Ottawa on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang</div>

Canadians skeptical of online harms bill making the internet safer

Less than half of respondents to Leger poll think new legislation will be effective

<div>Fewer than half of Canadians believe the federal government’s plan to regulate social media sites will make platforms safer, a new survey suggests. Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Arif Virani responds to questions from reporters in the Foyer of the House of Commons on Parliament Hill after Question Period, in Ottawa on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang</div>
Justice Minister Arif Virani holds a press conference on the new online harms bill on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024. Government officials say online hate speech would have to portray a group as “inherently violent” or “unhuman” to meet the threshold to be probed by a human-rights tribunal under a newly proposed law. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Online harms tribunal only aimed at ‘extreme’ forms of hate speech: Liberals

Civil liberties groups and legal experts concerned about law’s potential chill on free speech

Justice Minister Arif Virani holds a press conference on the new online harms bill on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024. Government officials say online hate speech would have to portray a group as “inherently violent” or “unhuman” to meet the threshold to be probed by a human-rights tribunal under a newly proposed law. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
FILE - The Meta logo is seen at the Vivatech show in Paris, France, on June 14, 2023. Facebook and Instagram users will start seeing labels on AI-generated images that appear on their social media feeds, part of a broader tech industry initiative to sort between what’s real and not. Meta said Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024 it’s working with industry partners on technical standards that will make it easier to identify images and eventually video and audio generated by artificial intelligence tools. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)

UPDATE: Facebook, Instagram back after problems reported around the world

Meta says log-in problems were addressed within a few hours, apologizes for inconvenience

FILE - The Meta logo is seen at the Vivatech show in Paris, France, on June 14, 2023. Facebook and Instagram users will start seeing labels on AI-generated images that appear on their social media feeds, part of a broader tech industry initiative to sort between what’s real and not. Meta said Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024 it’s working with industry partners on technical standards that will make it easier to identify images and eventually video and audio generated by artificial intelligence tools. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
The federal privacy watchdog says the operator behind Pornhub and other pornographic sites broke the law by enabling intimate images to be shared on its websites without direct knowledge or consent. The Pornhub website is shown on a computer screen in Toronto on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS

Watchdog rules Pornhub operator broke privacy laws by not ensuring consent

Privacy commissioner rules Aylo had legal obligation to obtain consent directly from video subject

The federal privacy watchdog says the operator behind Pornhub and other pornographic sites broke the law by enabling intimate images to be shared on its websites without direct knowledge or consent. The Pornhub website is shown on a computer screen in Toronto on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association is voicing concerns over what it calls “draconian penalties” proposed in the Criminal Code as part of the Liberal government’s sweeping plan to target online hate. Justice Minister Arif Virani arrives on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Stiffer penalties for online hate crimes raising civil liberties red flags

Advocates concerned new online harms bill may chill free speech, undermine fairness

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association is voicing concerns over what it calls “draconian penalties” proposed in the Criminal Code as part of the Liberal government’s sweeping plan to target online hate. Justice Minister Arif Virani arrives on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has tabled its long awaited legislation to better protect Canadians, and particularly youth, against online harms. The Peace Tower is pictured on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Canada’s new online harms bill: what you need to know

5 of the proposed changes aimed at better protecting Canadians — particularly youth — online

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has tabled its long awaited legislation to better protect Canadians, and particularly youth, against online harms. The Peace Tower is pictured on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
The federal government is expected to introduce legislation against online harms on Monday. A man uses a computer keyboard in Toronto in a Sunday, Oct. 9 photo illustration. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy

New online harms bill gets stamp of approval from Amanda Todd’s mom

Government wants to target what is considered the most seriously harmful content online

The federal government is expected to introduce legislation against online harms on Monday. A man uses a computer keyboard in Toronto in a Sunday, Oct. 9 photo illustration. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy
The federal government is expected to introduce legislation against online harms on Monday. A man uses a computer keyboard in Toronto in a Sunday, Oct. 9 photo illustration. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy

Online harms protection bill ready to be introduced

Federal legislation aimed at child safety and image sharing coming Feb. 26

The federal government is expected to introduce legislation against online harms on Monday. A man uses a computer keyboard in Toronto in a Sunday, Oct. 9 photo illustration. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy
Justin Trudeau took an unprompted jab at his main political rival over a Senate porn bill that the prime minister says could usher in a digital ID for adults who want to browse certain websites. Trudeau made the comments today following a press conference in Nova Scotia where he accused Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of spreading “lies” about the Liberal government’s upcoming online harms legislation. Trudeau makes an announcement in Membertou First Nation on Cape Breton Island, N.S., Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese

Porn browsing ID talk prompts Trudeau to take jab at Poilievre

Conservative leader says party supports bill that would require porn sites to verify users’ ages

Justin Trudeau took an unprompted jab at his main political rival over a Senate porn bill that the prime minister says could usher in a digital ID for adults who want to browse certain websites. Trudeau made the comments today following a press conference in Nova Scotia where he accused Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of spreading “lies” about the Liberal government’s upcoming online harms legislation. Trudeau makes an announcement in Membertou First Nation on Cape Breton Island, N.S., Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks during a press conference in Vancouver on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. Poilievre says a future Conservative government would make it a law for porn websites to verify the age of users, in order to prevent minors from accessing the content. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

Conservatives want proof-of-age verification limiting child access to porn

Poilievre says Conservative government would require it, has yet to clarify how process would work

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks during a press conference in Vancouver on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. Poilievre says a future Conservative government would make it a law for porn websites to verify the age of users, in order to prevent minors from accessing the content. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns
Canada is very close to tabling its long-awaited online harms bill. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire)

Child safety, not censorship, the focus of online harms bill: Trudeau

Long percolating bill governing internet activity could be tabled as soon as next week

Canada is very close to tabling its long-awaited online harms bill. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire)
A woman walks past the logo for Google at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai, Nov. 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

Sports, Oppenheimer and Barbie topped Canada’s Google charts in 2023

World cups of soccer and cricket, blockbuster summer movies had people Googling up a storm

A woman walks past the logo for Google at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai, Nov. 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)
Newly launched Starlink satellite crossing the Okanagan night skies (Riley Christie)

Canada’s spaceman and the push to connect remote corners of B.C.

Chris Hadfield promotes Starlink tech in Smithers as efforts to get all of B.C. internet continue

Newly launched Starlink satellite crossing the Okanagan night skies (Riley Christie)
Nearly 300 Rogers Communications workers have voted strongly in favour of a new contract, ending a company lockout that began two weeks ago. Locked out Rogers employees who are former Shaw technicians rally outside the company’s Lower Mainland headquarters, in Vancouver, on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Locked-out B.C. Rogers Communications workers ratify five-year contract

United Steelworkers union Local 1944, Unit 60, says members voted 96 per cent in favour

Nearly 300 Rogers Communications workers have voted strongly in favour of a new contract, ending a company lockout that began two weeks ago. Locked out Rogers employees who are former Shaw technicians rally outside the company’s Lower Mainland headquarters, in Vancouver, on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Rogers Communications Inc. has reached a tentative agreement with the union representing nearly 300 striking workers in Metro Vancouver after contract talks broke down and the company issued a lock-out notice earlier this month. Rogers signage is pictured in Ottawa on Tuesday, July 12, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Rogers reaches deal with former Shaw techs in B.C.’s Lower Mainland

Tentative deal would end dispute affecting 300 workers in wake of merging telecom giants

Rogers Communications Inc. has reached a tentative agreement with the union representing nearly 300 striking workers in Metro Vancouver after contract talks broke down and the company issued a lock-out notice earlier this month. Rogers signage is pictured in Ottawa on Tuesday, July 12, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Rogers President and CEO Joe Natale attends the company’s AGM in Toronto on Thursday, April 18, 2019. The former chief executive of Rogers Communications Inc. has fired back at the company, alleging Rogers is carrying out “a campaign of dishonesty” surrounding his ouster in November 2021 by fabricating claims in its defence to his lawsuit. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

Former Rogers CEO responds to countersuit, alleges ‘campaign of dishonesty’

In a statement, Rogers spokeswoman Sarah Schmidt said Joe Natale’s ‘behaviour speaks for itself’

Rogers President and CEO Joe Natale attends the company’s AGM in Toronto on Thursday, April 18, 2019. The former chief executive of Rogers Communications Inc. has fired back at the company, alleging Rogers is carrying out “a campaign of dishonesty” surrounding his ouster in November 2021 by fabricating claims in its defence to his lawsuit. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young