YouTube could manipulate algorithm under streaming bill: CRTC chair
The chairman of Canada's broadcast regulator says it might ask platforms such as YouTube to 鈥渕anipulate鈥 their algorithms to make Canadian music easier to find, under powers in the proposed online streaming bill.
Ian Scott told a Senate committee examining the bill that although the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission would not want to manipulate algorithms itself, it might tell platforms, 鈥淚 want you to manipulate it (the algorithm) to produce particular outcomes.鈥
His remarks have been seized on by critics of the online streaming bill, who say it confirms what they've been warning against.
Matthew Hatfield of OpenMedia said Scott's remarks confirmed 鈥渨hat we have been saying all along.鈥 OpenMedia is an organization dedicated to keeping the internet open. While it's mainly funded by individuals, it gets some funding from Google, whose parent company also owns YouTube.
YouTube has warned that Canadian digital creators, including influencers and streamers, could lose foreign revenue if the government forces digital platforms to promote Canadian content.
This is because algorithms cross borders, and if a Canadian song presented to YouTube's audience in Canada is not liked or chosen, it may suggest that it is not popular. That in turn could lead to it being downgraded worldwide.
The bill would update Canada's broadcast laws to apply to platforms including Netflix, YouTube and Spotify, forcing them to take steps to make Canadian content - including music, films and TV shows - more 鈥渄iscoverable.鈥
Michael Geist, the University of Ottawa's Canada Research Chair in internet law, said it has long been obvious that those rules would require algorithmic manipulation.
鈥淚ndeed, that is precisely why so many Canadian digital creators expressed concern about the bill and it the harm it could cause,鈥 he said.
鈥淭he CRTC chair has acknowledged that the law will allow the government to do indirectly what it says it can't do directly, by pressuring platforms to manipulate their algorithms to prioritize certain content over others.鈥
Geist said this could lead to Canadian creators having their content downgraded globally, leading to decreased revenues and exposure.
But Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez has publicly said the bill will not lead to platforms being asked to manipulate their algorithms.
On Thursday, his spokeswoman stressed the government's position has not changed, pointing out that part of Bill C-11 specifically rules out manipulating algorithms. A clause in the bill would prevent the CRTC making an order requiring the 鈥渦se of a specific computer algorithm or source code.鈥
鈥淭he government will ask the CRTC to work with the platforms to showcase content so that more Canadians can find, choose, and enjoy content from Canadian artists and creators,鈥 said Laura Scaffidi.
鈥淚t will be up to the platforms to decide how to best meet these objectives.鈥
Scott made his remarks Wednesday evening when appearing before the Senate committee on transport and communications, which is carrying out a pre-study of the bill.
The online streaming bill this week passed through the House of Commons but will now be scrutinized closely in the Senate.
In his opening remarks to the committee, Scott said the CRTC is 鈥渓argely supportive鈥 of the bill, but wants to see a few amendments made, including one that would allow it to continue to resolve disputes.
YouTube, Spotify and the CRTC declined to comment.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 24, 2022.
IN DEPTH
Jagmeet Singh pulls NDP out of deal with Trudeau Liberals, takes aim at Poilievre Conservatives
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has pulled his party out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that had been helping keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberals in power.
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government鈥檚 three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party鈥檚 popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn鈥檛 be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca 星空传媒
BREAKING Israeli military says it has carried out a 'targeted strike' in Beirut
The Israeli military said it carried out a 'targeted strike' in the Lebanese capital Beirut on Friday.
The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.
Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.
Cognitive decline reduced by MIND diet, especially for women and Black people, study finds
Following the MIND diet for 10 years produced a small but significant decrease in the risk of developing thinking, concentration and memory problems, a new study found.
An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.
The Montreal couple from Mexico and their three children facing deportation have received a temporary residence permit.
Federal firearm buyback program has cost $67M, still not collecting guns after 4 years
The federal firearm buyback program has cost taxpayers nearly $67.2 million since it was announced in 2020, but it still hasn't collected a single gun.
Lawyers say former Harrods boss Al Fayed was a 'monster' who abused women and girls
Lawyers representing dozens of women who say they were raped and sexually abused by Mohamed Al Fayed, the former boss of the famous London department store Harrods, said the case was akin to the crimes of sex offenders Jimmy Savile, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein.
NEW Health data collected from Indigenous Peoples in Canada has a dark history. One Indigenous company is turning that around
Software company Mustimuhw Information, which develops medical records systems built on a foundation of Indigenous traditions and values, is allowing health providers to capture data informed by cultural practices.
Local Spotlight
They say a dog is a man鈥檚 best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.
A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.
Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.
The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.
It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.
A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.
David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.
Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.