News
TAGGED AS 2019 ELECTION
Green Party platform: no anonymous social media, 5G rollout on hold
The Green Party election platform includes promises to ensure only individuals whose identities have been verified can set up social media accounts and indicates a Green government would require Parliamentary approval to continue the rollout of 5G. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all …
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NDP price caps would apply to all wireless plans, be set by the CRTC
The NDP’s promised telecom service price caps would apply to all wireless plans and the CRTC would be the body charged with setting up the regime, an NDP source confirmed following a press conference held in Toronto Friday to reiterate the party’s election promises to lower cellphone and internet service bills. This content is available …
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Local Quebec radio groups want more gov’t ads
Two local Quebec radio groups representing around 60 stations in the province are asking the provincial government to shift more of its advertising budget to their members. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need. …
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Election 2019: watch for price caps, Netflix regs, Huawei ban
Even before the federal election campaign officially kicked off, telecom price caps already emerged as a proposal that, if implemented, would reverse a decades-long policy trend in Canada and diverge from international norms. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting …
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Scheer promises new privacy committees, rules for data collection and AI
The Conservative Party is promising new rules for electronic data collection and technologies like the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence if it wins in this fall’s federal election. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news …
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NDP skeptical about Liberal campaign telecom plans
The NDP is already throwing cold water on reports that the Liberals are considering a price cap and mandated access for mobile virtual network operators as part of the incumbent party’s campaign plank. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting …
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Opposition MPs frustrated with reported delay on Huawei decision
Conservative and NDP MPs criticized the Liberal government Tuesday for what appears to be a delay in announcing its decision about whether or not to allow Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.’s equipment to be used in Canada’s 5G networks. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock …
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‘Deepfakes’ could trigger election security alert, gov’t officials say
Artificial intelligence technology allowing videos to be seamlessly manipulated for political purposes could potentially meet a national public interest threshold designated by a panel assigned to weed out election security concerns, federal officials said Tuesday. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian …
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Connectivity strategy repeats budget promises, offers no details
The connectivity strategy released by Rural Economic Development Minister Bernadette Jordan Thursday morning reiterated the Liberals’ commitment to the promises made in the federal budget, but offered no new information about how those funds will be spent. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all …
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Twitter bans pre-election political advertising
Ending several months of uncertainty and speculations, Twitter Inc. has declared that it will join Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Microsoft Corp.’s Bing search engine in not selling any political advertisements in Canada in the run-up to the federal election, though it will resume selling such ads once the election begins. This content is available to …
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Tech giants agree to ‘voluntary’ set of principles: Gould
OTTAWA — Facebook Inc. and Microsoft Corp. have both signed on to a declaration of principles around the promotion of electoral integrity online, aimed at combatting the spread of disinformation on social media sites in the run up to the 2019 federal election. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here …
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Scheer promises Huawei 5G ban, but no info on what that means
Conservative leader Andrew Scheer said last week he was in favour of a ban on equipment from Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. in 5G networks, but his office has since refused to offer any information about what would be involved in such a move. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in …
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Digital rights group studying privacy policies of political parties
The Centre for Digital Rights has hired new lobbyists to help it research the privacy policies of the political parties, a spokesperson told The Wire Report. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need. Take …
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NDP calls for OTT sales tax, end of ad tax exemption
MONTREAL — The NDP’s platform for this year’s federal election will include requiring foreign over-the-top (OTT) services to collect and remit sales tax on revenues earned in Canada and ending the tax exemption for advertising on foreign online platforms. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? …
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Facebook sets higher standards in guidelines than laws: Chan
OTTAWA — Facebook Inc.’s head of public policy in Canada said Friday the platform’s community guidelines, “in many respects,” go above what is currently prescribed in Canadian law, as the company works on making those guidelines more transparent. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all …
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Ethics committee grills Google over political ads decision
OTTAWA — In an at-times tense hearing of the House of Commons ethics committee, executives from the Canada office of Alphabet Inc.’s Google made the case that the company was technologically unable to sell political advertisements on its platforms in a way that would comply with Bill C-76. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers …
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Microsoft adds elections to lobbying file
The tech giant Microsoft Corp. last week added “elections” to its lobbying files. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need. Take a free trial or subscribe to The Wire Report now. FREE TRIAL Two …
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Twitter registers social media education on lobby files
Twitter Inc. has added a timely subject matter to its lobby files: educating federal officials on social media use during elections. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need. Take a free trial or subscribe …
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Interference related to 2019 election ‘very likely’: CSE
OTTAWA — It is now “very likely” that Canadians will face some form of cyber foreign interference, but it is “improbable” it will be on the scale of the 2016 United States election, according to a cyber update from the Communications Security Establishment. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in …
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Singh vows to ‘stand up to the rich telecommunication companies’
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh is putting cell phone and internet affordability on the political agenda as an early issue ahead of the October vote, attacking incumbent telecom companies for profiting from steep prices and trying to paint the Liberal government as being too close with them. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a …
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Dozens of MP’s online accounts appeared in data breaches
Nearly a hundred emails for members of parliament — among them eight direct-to-MP emails — have been recorded in various data breaches dating back years, an analysis done by the Wire Report revealed. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and …
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Facebook forms team for advice on ad registry
Facebook Inc. will solicit the advice of an advisory group as part of its effort to ensure its ad registry captures key issues leading to the 2019 federal election. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news …
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Google won’t run political ads in 2019 election
Alphabet Inc.’s search giant Google plans to ban political advertising from its platforms during the next federal election campaign in Canada, following the introduction of tougher political advertising transparency rules by the Liberal government. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting …
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Facebook ‘not aware’ of Canadian applicants for data research program
Despite heightened interest in the impact of social media on Canadian elections, Facebook Inc. said it has not heard of any Canadian institutions that have applied to view the social media giant’s data sets. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, …
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Gov’t trending toward requiring online platforms to remove content: Gould
OTTAWA — Democratic institutions minister Karina Gould said the government is angling closer to mandating internet companies remove illegal content from their platforms. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need. Take a free trial …
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‘Long slog’ to get ad registry ready for election, Facebook says
OTTAWA — Facebook Inc.’s head of public policy in Canada said the federal government hasn’t fully owned how “significant” an undertaking it is to require social media companies to compile a registry of political ads for the purposes of transparency. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot …
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Majority supports fining social media for not removing fake news: CIRA poll
A majority of Canadian internet users say the federal government should impose fines or other sanctions on social media companies that don’t remove fake news from their platforms, according to polling released by the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) Tuesday. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot …
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‘Milestone’ digital content meeting to take place next week: Heritage
The federal government is organizing a working meeting next week in Ottawa involving a broad swath of stakeholders to devise strategies for promoting diversity of digital content, including discoverability and the quality and reliability of information online. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all …
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Ottawa taps team to warn of foreign digital interference in elections
OTTAWA — The Liberal government has set up a new alert protocol and created a crack-team of top bureaucrats that can warn political parties and the public during an election period about major attempts by foreign parties to interfere or spread disinformation online that could manipulate the election. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers …
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Top telecom and media stories to watch for in 2019
As the new year begins, the months ahead promise a new spectrum auction, new CRTC announcements on high-profile files like telecom sales practices, and even potentially a new federal government — to be determined in an election in which the danger of hacking and social media manipulation will itself be a key story. This content …
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Ethics committee calls for new social media rules
OTTAWA — A House of Commons committee is unanimously calling for new rules for social media companies that require them to quickly remove fake accounts and illegal content or face fines, and to increase transparency over their algorithms and political advertising. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN …
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Elections bill doesn’t ‘sufficiently protect’ against foreign meddling: senators
A Senate committee is concerned that the elections modernization bill introduced earlier this year and ahead of the 2019 federal election won’t do enough to “sufficiently protect Canadian elections from foreign interference.” This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and …
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Elections chief to Senate: give OPC oversight over party privacy policies
The head of Elections Canada is urging the government to give the privacy commissioner jurisdiction over complaints under proposed legislation that will compel political parties to have, and make public, privacy policies — a call that previously fell on deaf ears. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? …
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Public Policy Forum to track online disinformation
Ottawa-based think tank the Public Policy Forum says it’s launching a new project to track, analyze and eventually find a way to counter “fake news.” This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need. Take a …
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1-in-10 say ISPs should play a role identifying ‘fake news’: survey
There’s a lack of consensus over who should help Canadians determine what counts as ‘fake news’, but the government, non-profits and internet service providers (ISPs) are the most likely suspects, according to polling done for the federal government this fall. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot …
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Most Canadians concerned with ‘fake news’ in next election: MTM
A year away from the next federal election, a majority of Canadians are concerned about the effect of ‘fake news’ on the electoral process, according to a new report by Media Technology Monitor (MTM), which is a research product of CBC/Radio-Canada. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here …
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PIPEDA could put a ‘chill’ on political volunteers: Liberal counsel
OTTAWA — The consequences of bringing the country’s political parties under its private sector privacy law will mean fewer volunteers in campaign efforts due to fears of lofty fines, a lawyer for the Liberal party told the House of Commons ethics committee Tuesday. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in …
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Despite paper ballot, election hacking vulnerabilities exist
To bolster Canada’s democratic defences before the next election, governmental departments, political organizations, research groups and private industry tasked with that goal need to contend with a menagerie of cyber threats, experts from security field tell the The Wire Report. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot …
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Social media threats challenge gov’t, platforms ahead of election
In the three years since the last Canadian federal election, emerging technologies such as automated bots have rapidly evolved to make it easier to spread misinformation on social media platforms, which experts say has the potential to confuse and radicalize the voting public ahead of next year’s election. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers …
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