The Online Streaming Act is less controversial than you think.
Bill C-11 is not an attempt to censor the internet.
Bill C-11, An Act to amend the Broadcasting Act and make related and consequential amendments to other Acts, also known as the Online Streaming Act passed into law on April 27, 2023 causing quite a stir in the media and online about how the amendment would impact the content we have access to in Canada. The bill is very short. It amends the Broadcasting Act to add online undertakings as a distinct class of broadcasting undertakings, includes goals for the Canadian broadcasting system of serving the needs and interests of all Canadians and providing opportunities for Indigenous persons, enhancing French language programming, and specifying how the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (“CRTC”) should regulate and supervise online broadcasting. The Bill is clear about not including social media under the ambit of what will be governed by the new amendments and is clearly focused on the type of content that is produced for major streaming services just as Netflix or Disney+. Since its introduction as a concept, and over the past few months as it got closer to becoming law, the Online Streaming Act became a highly contentious topic. But is it really worth all the fuss? I would argue, no.
The CRTC has regulated radio and television since 1968 (originally as the CRC) to ensure that 50% of all programming aired annually by broadcast television and 35% of popular music played between 6:00am - 6:00pm for radio and 6:00 am - 11:00pm for television is Canadian. That’s why you hear so much Nickelback when you are listening to a Canadian music radio station, but is also what provided shows like Corner Gas, Little Mosque on the Prairie, Schitt’s Creek and Kim’s Convenience a platform for popularity they were unlikely to otherwise have. The benefits and drawbacks of the CRTC regulations, as they apply to more traditional media like radio and television are somewhat self-evident. With only so many slots to be filled in a given day, and a limited number of those being during waking and/or primetime hours, it would be very easy for stations and channels to fill their rosters with the abundance of popular American programming, not giving Canadian content a platform to be seen at all. However, it does mean that the non-Canadian shows or music we want to listen to are not available at absolutely every hour of the day.
Enter online streaming.
Like many Millennials, I do not pay a traditional cable bill. I subscribe to a number of streaming services where I can watch the shows I want to watch at any hour of the day. While this does include some Canadian programming, it is composed largely of American and other international content, and I have no restrictions on how many episodes I can watch at a time in most cases. Because online streaming is not limited by the number of hours in a day, everything is available all at once. This simultaneously lowers the bar to entry, and raises the bar for popularity.
In the last few years, we have begun recognizing that the internet cannot be treated as the wild west any longer, so it was only a matter of time before regulators would start talking about how we address online streaming platforms. The Online Streaming Act is part of the response to how the internet is changing the way we interact with media.
The contention around the Online Streaming Act is not dissimilar from that which has arisen around other attempts to regulate newer technologies. Accusations have been fired that this law is part of an attempt to censor the internet, impose barriers for Canadian creators, or limit what we have access to as Canadian consumers. None of this is substantiated by the text of the bill or by the guidance put forward by the Canadian government and the CRTC specifically.
The Online Streaming Act is not intended to impact individual Canadian creators. The online undertakings it refers to are programs that we see on the major subscription platforms like Netflix. Netflix is fundamentally different from YouTube or TikTok, which are specifically exempt. Individual users can’t just upload their own television shows to Netflix; I can have a show on YouTube later today if I want to. The CRTC has never and is not about to start regulating Canadian YouTubers. For further reassurance, content posted to YouTube and other social media platforms does not even meet the definition of “broadcasting” under the Broadcasting Act that the Online Streaming Act amends. The CRTC is also not about to influence or control the algorithms on streaming services that promote different shows to users - they don’t have that level of control over the corporations that provide these services. Promotion of Canadian and Indigenous content under the Online Streaming Act is intended to come from more traditional forms of promotion like ad campaigns.
Engaging actively in the conversation around how and if online streaming should be regulated and how it can be integrated with the content mandates of the CRTC is good. Inflammatory statements not based in fact, are not. While there is always the potential that there could be negative outcomes that result from the Online Streaming Act, it is essential to separate what it is, from what it is not. This is not a generalized attempt to regulate or censor content on the internet. It imposes no limitations or cutbacks on the range of what is available in Canada. If you want to watch Succession 24-hours a day, this isn’t going to stop you. If things go well, it will hopefully increase the programming available and spread the reach of Canadian content.