Regulate the Net, demands ‘coalition’

[Azure]

That’ll protect Canadian identity, according to Richard Hardacre, president of the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA).


“A drift away from regulation could be catastrophic for Canadian identity,” CanWest News Service has him saying. “We could be easily swallowed up by American programming.”


But, “That’s lunacy,” says Iain Grant, an analyst at research firm Seaboard Group, in the story.


“It’s like King Canute trying to stop the tides. There are two countries in the world that are trying to control the Internet: Saudi Arabia and China.”
Hardacre apparently didn’t have any ideas on how George W. Harper’s present Conservative government could, “impose content quotas online or which websites would be affected,” continues the the story.

http://www.p2pnet.net/story/13867

I demand that they screw off.

[Locke]

Seconded. This plan sounds like it has tons of potential.....

[Cowboy89]

Ah yes Canadian content laws on the internet. Wonderful! Because I love overpaying for crappy TV service from a pseudo-monopoly called Bell Expressvu so much that I want this coming to the internet too!.

Imagine an error message when you want to go to an american website "You've exceeded your foreign content allowance for today and now you're only permitted to see fine websites maintained by the National Film Board of Canada."

[arsenal]

No no no no a million times no.
If I want canadian content, I will go find canadian content. I do not need, nor want canadian content rammed down my throat.

If they spent more time actually nurturing canadian artists, rather than giving them a free ride onto the air waves, they might actually be produce something that would make me want to watch or listen to.

[octothorp]

The whole purpose of regulation in television and radio is based around the fact that there's limited exposure: with a limited number of channels and a limited number of hours in the day, any spot given to an american program is taking time away from a canadian program; and while I don't agree with the current regulation of television, I can at least see that there's some plausible argument for it. However, with the Internet, space is unlimited; an american website doesn't in any way limit the exposure of a competing canadian website. If this becomes an exercise in blocking and limiting american websites, then it amounts to nothing more than sensorship.

[llama64]

Hardacre apparently didn’t have any ideas on how George W. Harper’s present Conservative government could, “impose content quotas online or which websites would be affected,” continues the the story.

That line right there makes this story completely irrelevant. Likely written by some moron in his parents basement.

Net regulation is expensive, tricky and nearly impossible to achieve. It won't happen in Canada. I wouldn't start panicking.

[arsenal]

I understand the reasoning for giving a time slot for canadian content. I just don't agree with it. To me, it's just wrong, and is actually detrimental to canadian based entertainment.
As far as music goes:
Shania Twain, Bryan Adams, Nickleback, Default, 54-40, K-os, Avril Lavinie, etc are all fairly popular both in canada and outside of canada. They got to that point, because their music appeals to a large audience. But if canadian bands get popular, it's because their music is good. Not because they are given "free play".

Same goes with TV shows. Honestly, I find the type of programing that comes out of the CBC terrible. I couldn't care less if CBC was off the air, except for about 7 hours on saturday. The Hour is decent, as well as Dragon's Den, but I rarely watch those.

All I am saying, is that instead of forcing content distributors to have a set % of canadian content, and play what people want to see / hear, maybe we would get better programming coming out of canada.

Prime example, Top Gear. Publicly funded, great show. Beats every other car show out there in my opinion.

[Juventus3]

We were swallowed up by American culture when they invented "Television".

[McG]

even conceptually this is incorrect. american sites don't necessarily come from american servers or american jurisdictions, nor do sites from canada necessarily come from canada. right there is the start of the impossible.

besides that, maybe we should start limiting access to sites in the UK or SE Asia next?