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Michael Geist's take on the new CRTC announcement relating to C-11

https://www.michaelgeist.ca/2023/10/...istrationregs/

By contrast, the inclusion of registration requirements for a wide range of undertakings, including some podcast services, online news sites, adult content sites, and social media left some characterizing it as a podcast registry or part of “one of the world’s most repressive online censorship schemes.” So what’s the reality? As is often the case, it is not as bad as critics would suggest, but not nearly as benign as the CRTC would have you believe.

Third, the information itself may be limited, but the implications and obligations carry some significance. From a speech perspective, the regulator is effectively saying that a podcaster or news outlet that generates a certain threshold of revenue must register with the government, a position that runs counter to freedom of expression rights without government interference. The Commission repeated response to this concern is that many won’t actually be caught given the monetary threshold, which does not address why anyone should be caught for these activities. Further, this is mandated disclosure of personal information (including the inferences of revenues for individuals) which carries privacy implications. And while the information isn’t hard to compile, the analysis determining whether one qualifies is not always going to be simple (a news site is only required to include revenues from audio or video, which may not be easy to determine for those that are subscription based).

Fourth – and perhaps most troubling – is that the CRTC repeatedly signals that registration is in fact the entry point to more regulation. The podcast, thematic services, and online news examples are clearly part of a potential regulatory initiative based on meeting Broadcasting Act objectives. In other instances, the Commission just comes out and says regulation is on the way. For example, for adult sites:

The takeaway from the decision is obvious: registration is the first step toward regulation with the Commission already envisioning the prospect of regulating a wide range of services. Bill C-11 was never just about “web giants” and the latest CRTC decision confirms that an extensive regulatory framework is in the works that is likely to cover podcasts, adult sites, news sites, and a host of other online video and audio services.