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FYI

Media Beat: October 03, 2018

Media Beat: October 03, 2018

By David Farrell

CRTC rejects web censorship proposal

Canada's telecom regulator has rejected a proposal from numerous media giants, including Bell and the CBC, to institute a system for blocking websites accused of piracy.


The proposal came from the FairPlay Canada coalition, a group started by Bell Canada that eventually came to include the CBC, Rogers, cinema chain Cineplex and labour union Unifor, among others.

In a decision issued Tuesday, the CRTC, in essence, said it doesn't have the jurisdiction under the Telecommunications Act to force internet service providers to block access to certain websites, as the Bell-led coalition had asked. – Daniel Tencer, HuffPost

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From copyright term to simsub: Breaking down the digital NAFTA deal

Canada and the U.S. reached agreement late Sunday (Sept. 30) on a new NAFTA (now renamed the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement or USMCA). While much of the focus is on the dairy industry, dispute resolution, and the auto sector, the agreement will have significant implications for intellectual property, digital policy, and broadcasting. It will take some time to examine all the provisions, but the short-hand version is that Canada has agreed to extend the term of copyright, saved the notice-and-notice system for copyright infringement claims, extended the term of protection for biologics at significant long-term cost to the health care, agreed that Internet companies are not liable for third-party content, extended border measures on counterfeiting, and promised to drop the CRTC policy that permitted U.S. commercials to be aired during the Super Bowl broadcast.

With few exceptions, the U.S. adopted a Trans Pacific Partnership+ approach with the TPP provisions plus some additional changes it did not get as part of those negotiations. This is notable since Canadian authorities admitted that the TPP went far beyond any previous Canadian free trade agreement. – Michael Geist blog

Trump eliminates the middleman in his war against journalists

The White House doesn’t want to talk to reporters. Trump largely wants to talk to reporters only if they praise and reinforce him — Fox News — or if he can berate and embarrass them. It is not how a president generally interacts with the media. But as New York university professor Jay Rosen notes, it is what a leader who operates outside the constraints of a democracy is prone to do. – Philip Bump, The Washington Post

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GMINXR
Alt. Studio Lab

GMINXR

Music

New & Upcoming Canadian Albums: Punjabi-Canadian Producer GMINXR Drops 'Hit List' EP on 91 North Records

Also this week, Neil Young puts out the new documentary soundtrack, Coastal, and Tami Neilson has announced the new album, Neon Cowgirl. Check out the full release calendar here.

It's a holiday weekend, but Good Friday hasn't stopped the slew of releases on New Music Friday,.

Heading up notable new releases this week is GMINXR. Fresh from a Juno Awards performance, the internationally renowned Punjabi-Canadian producer now has his own release, Hit List, featuring Tegi Pannu and Zehr Vibe. It's out on 91 North Records, the label collaboration between Warner Music India and Warner Music Canada. The five-song EP is inspired by both golden era hip-hop and Punjabi folk music, and infused with GMINXR's trademark trap beats.

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