By David Farrell
It’s time to reboot Canada’s failed digital agenda
The government’s decision to prorogue Parliament and launch a new legislative agenda later this month offers more than just an opportunity to recalibrate economic priorities in light of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Less than 12 months after the 2019 national election, Canada’s digital policy agenda has gone off the rails and is badly in need of a reboot.
The Liberals identified consumer telecom pricing, privacy protection and a modernized internet legal framework as priorities, but have struggled to develop an effective approach. – Michael Geist, The Globe and Mail
Michael Hollett announces ‘Next’ magazine venture
Details for now remain sketchy but Now magazine’s cofounder announced Friday on Facebook that he is launching a new “hyper-local arts” magazine on Nov. 26. The gloss, four-colour monthly will have separate city editions in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary. Private capital is backing him in the venture. More to come.
Spotify stock falls after Amazon adds podcasts to its music streaming service
Spotify shares fell 1.2% on Wednesday after Amazon announced that it’s adding podcasts to its music streaming service.
Users in the U.S., U.K., Germany and Japan will be able to stream podcasts for free across all tiers of Amazon Music, the company said. Amazon Music offers users a range of paid and free, ad-supported options to access the service. Amazon Prime customers also get access to more than 2 million songs ad-free as part of their $119-per-year membership. – Annie Palmer, CNBC
TikTok deal with Oracle, Walmart gets Trump’s “blessing”
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in an interview on Fox Business Network that the ban would initially impact WeChat and TikTok will be allowed to function until 11/12. “The only real change as of Sunday night will be users won’t have access to improved updated apps, upgraded apps or maintenance,” Ross said. – Hits Daily Double
Take a look inside Trump's close relationship with Oracle cofounder, Larry Ellison
In February, the Trump administration argued before the Supreme Court that Microsoft's decade-long legal case against Oracle be dismissed. This recommendation came on the same day as Trump's fundraiser at Ellison's Coachella Valley home. – Debanjali Bose, Business Insider
Twitter tells journalists, lawmakers to improve passwords before the election
“Twitter said it will send a push notification to every member of Congress, officials running for office, U.S. governors, secretaries of state and some U.S. news outlets and political journalists. The alert will ask these people to turn on two-factor authentication and review their password.” – Kurt Wagner, Bloomberg
