‘Level playing field’ for foreign digital news services: committee

OTTAWA — After a year of study and hearing from 131 witnesses, some of them multiple times, the House of Commons’ heritage committee delivered a report aiming to tackle a rapidly changing media environment that included a call for foreign digital companies like Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google to pay the same taxes. This content is available …

Gov’t info requests to Facebook fall in second half of 2016

Sandvine warns about zero-rating ‘fraud’

A new report from broadband equipment maker Sandvine Corp. says that some Internet users are avoiding data charges by disguising Internet traffic to look like zero-rated content.

“Enticed by the potential of receiving unlimited data for minimal (or no) cost, subscribers have a strong incentive to engage in circumventing behaviour,” the company said in its Global Internet Phenomena Spotlight report, released Wednesday. Sandvine sells services that allow telecoms to identify such circumvention, it said in the report and in a press release.

Joly to discuss promoting CanCon with Google, Facebook

Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly will travel to California later this month to meet with representatives from Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc., her office has confirmed.

Spokesman Pierre-Olivier Herbert said the minister will go to San Francisco and Los Angeles next week and will meet with officials from Google, YouTube and Facebook.

Encrypted messaging apps no place to hide, says U.K. official after killings

Facebook Inc.’s WhatsApp messaging service should not be a place “for terrorists to hide,” according to U.K. Home Secretary Amber Rudd, who appeared on a Sunday BBC program and called for co-operation from communications companies in the wake of last week’s terror attack outside the British houses of parliament.

Facebook beefs up lobbying squad

Facebook Inc. is increasing its government relations presence in Ottawa, with three new registrations filed with the lobbying commissioner’s office last month.

According to the federal lobbyists’ registry, the social media giant has contracted the services of U.K.-based consulting firm AA Access Partnership Ltd., bringing the number of consultants registered to lobby on behalf of Facebook to nine.

Facebook says its data can’t be used for surveillance

Facebook Inc. has updated its policies to state that developers cannot use data obtained from its social media networks “to provide tools that are used for surveillance.”

While the change was prompted by events that took place in the United States, Facebook spokesman Jay Nancarrow said in an email Tuesday that the policy applies globally.

VoLTE to overtake OTT voice apps by 2021: Juniper

The number of Voice over LTE (VoLTE) subscribers on 4G LTE mobile connections is expected to increase significantly and overtake over-the-top (OTT) applications over the next four years, according to Juniper Research.

The expected number of VoLTE users worldwide will increase to three billion in 2021 from 488 million in 2016 to, “as operators reap the benefits from widespread 4G infrastructure roll-outs,” according to a white paper examining how operators can use voice to retain market share and make new revenues, published Tuesday.

Imposing taxes on foreign OTT could bring in $1B: report

Taxing foreign digital services such as Facebook Inc., Amazon.com Inc.’s Prime service, Alphabet Inc.’s YouTube and Netflix Inc. could provide the federal government with up to $1 billion per year, according to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).

The recommendation was included in the progressive think tank’s alternative federal budget, released Thursday.

Joly sitting down with foreign digital companies

Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly is meeting this week with digital platforms, telling a CBC morning radio show Friday that she was in the Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont., region Thursday meeting with Alphabet Inc.’s Google Canada and had appointments with Spotify AB and Facebook Inc. that day.

CBC ‘dimmer star’ in media landscape, conservative event hears

OTTAWA — When talking about CBC/Radio-Canada’s role in the media landscape, the public broadcaster is a “pygmy amongst giants,” and more focus should be aimed at large telecom companies, Dwayne Winseck argued Saturday during a debate about whether to “pull the plug” on the CBC.

Facebook, Google not ‘arbiters of truth,’ committee hears

OTTAWA — Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google Canada told members of Parliament Tuesday they don’t see themselves as “arbiters of truth” in the ongoing challenge to address the problem of false news stories being shared via their respective platforms, but that they are increasing the measures they take to stem the flow.

U.S. tech companies oppose Trump travel ban

Almost 100 tech companies in the United States have filed a brief in a court case against U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order blocking entry of citizens from seven countries and all refugees into the United States.

The document was filed Sunday and signed by 97 companies, including Apple Inc., Facebook Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Microsoft Corp., Spotify AB’s U.S. division, and Twitter Inc.

Tax deduction change would boost ad revenue $250-$450M: Friends

Removing tax deductions for advertising on non-Canadian online media outlets could help the beleaguered local media and news sectors, while saving the government money, according to a new paper from watchdog group Friends of Canadian Broadcasting.

Facebook reports 1K gov’t info requests in first half of 2016

Canadian law enforcement and government agencies made over one thousand requests for customer information to Facebook Inc. in the first six months of 2016, four times more than the company received during the same time period two years ago.

Facebook released its most-recent Global Government Requests report on Dec. 21. The transparency report shows that between January and June of last year, agencies made 1,004 total requests, involving 1,205 accounts.

Social media networks team up to flag terrorism-related content

Facebook Inc., Microsoft Corp., Twitter Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s YouTube will begin sharing information to help curb the spread of terrorism-related content.

CBC asks for 35% funding boost to go ad-free

CBC/Radio-Canada is asking the federal government for an increase in its funding so that it can eliminate advertising on its platforms.

In a submission made as part of a government review of Canadian content in a digital age, CBC asked for an increase of $12 per person in funding, to $46.

Facebook working on increasing monetization for news media: exec

MONTREAL — Facebook Inc. is increasing opportunities for the news media to monetize content, the company’s Canadian head of public policy said Wednesday, citing initiatives like Instant Articles and Facebook Live.

CBC, Facebook digital ad sales hurting newspapers, committee hears

OTTAWA — The Canadian government should review its mandate for CBC/Radio-Canada in light of the national broadcaster and foreign digital competitors taking away ad dollars from local newspapers, individuals representing the latter told the House of Commons standing committee on Canadian Heritage Thursday. 

Privacy commish looking for transparency compliance ‘in coming months’

OTTAWA — Companies who are not already proactively complying with the federal government’s transparency reporting rules are running out of time before the Office of the Privacy Commissioner begins looking for ways to enforce the guidelines with legislation.

Differing opinions on how to guide differential pricing, interventions show

Even among those who support differential pricing practices such as zero rating and sponsoring data, there isn’t a consensus as to how they should be regulated by CRTC, according to additional comments filed with the commission in its proceeding on the issue.

Supplemental interventions were published on the CRTC’s website on Thursday, ahead of the five-day public hearing, which begins Oct. 31 in Gatineau, Que. During the week-long hearing, the CRTC panel will hear from 31 groups, companies and individuals.

PGA Tour broadcasts coming to Twitter, Facebook

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Facebook desktop users lose ability to block ads

Facebook Inc. said Tuesday that users of the desktop version of its social network will no longer be able to circumvent advertising through ad-blocking software.

In a blog post from Andrew Bosworth, vice-president of ads and business platform, the company announced it was tweaking its ad settings controlled by users to “address the underlying reasons people have turned to ad blocking software.”

Facebook, AT&T defend differential pricing in CRTC review

Facebook Inc. and AT&T Inc. have waded into the CRTC’s review of differential pricing practices, arguing that the commission should allow carriers to offer zero-rated services and sponsored data.

TheScore launches Facebook Messaging bot for sports updates

TheScore Inc. launched its chatbot for Facebook Inc.’s Messenger on Wednesday, making it one of the first sports media companies to build a messaging bot to update users on sports developments.

The bot allows Facebook Messenger users to receive automated and up-to-date information on teams they follow, the company said in a press release.

CRTC won’t change course despite appeals, criticism: Blais

CRTC Chairman Jean-Pierre Blais said Wednesday the CRTC will stick to the course of action it has set despite disapproval by those who feel the CRTC’s direction “upsets their entitlements and threatens their livelihoods.”

Rogers customer care joins Facebook Messenger

Rogers Communications Inc. announced Friday that its customers will now have access to its customer care service on Facebook Inc.’s Messenger.

It said in a press release that the service is available for all consumer products between 7 a.m. and midnight ET every day, and added that customers can access the chat by going to the Rogers Facebook page and clicking on the message button to start a chat with someone from Rogers.

VoLTE connections to reach 2 billion by 2020: Juniper

Voice-over-LTE (VoLTE) connections are anticipated to reach two billion by 2020, rising from about 123 million connections this year, according to a new report released Monday from Juniper Research Ltd.

It said the opportunity for monetizing VoLTE will initially be limited as “network operators will initially focus on experience and quality of service, rather than monetization, with failure to deliver a high-quality offering at the outset potentially resulting in churn to rival operators.”

Instagram users more tech savvy: MTM

A new report released Monday from Media Technology Monitor (MTM) says 85 per cent of Canadian users of Facebook Inc.’s photo and video-sharing app, Instagram, are younger than 50 and most are prone to owning new technology.

CTV News partners with Facebook for election coverage

BCE Inc.’s CTV News announced Tuesday it has partnered with Facebook Inc. for coverage of this year's federal election campaign.

CTV said in a press release the partnership starts immediately and continues until the October election. Features of the new service will include access to Facebook’s experts, information on topics that are trending on the social network, how parties and candidates are using Facebook, and how well they are engaging with people on Facebook, the release said.

OTT messaging struggling to monetize: Juniper

Over-the-top (OTT) messaging services are expected to see traffic levels triple globally by 2019 compared to last year's levels, but a lack of success in monetizing the product will lead to a decline in global revenue for the messaging industry overall, according to Juniper Research Ltd.

Social network users spending more time online: MTM

Anglophone Canadians who use social networks spend an average of about three hours more each week online than Internet users in general, according to a report released Wednesday.

Media Technology Monitor (MTM), a project of CBC/Radio-Canada, released data from a poll showing that 75 per cent of anglophone Canadians who use the Internet had visited a social networking site within the previous month. That was up from 71 per cent in 2013, and was as low as 18 per cent in 2006 before surging to 42 per cent in 2007, MTM said.

Facebook launches Amber Alerts in Canada

Facebook Inc. said Monday that its users in Canada will receive Amber Alert notifications to help find missing children.

Amber Alert notifications will be sent to residents living in the area where the child is missing, Facebook said in press release. Notifications will include photos and details about the missing child, and users will be able to share this information. 

The application was created in collaboration with police authorities in different provinces across Canada to help expedite the search faster, Facebook said.

News agencies to start publishing directly to Facebook

Facebook Inc. said Tuesday it has introduced a new feature to its mobile app that allows news and public affairs publishers to have content posted directly on Facebook feeds and appear 10 times faster than typically shared articles.

In a blog post on its website, Facebook product manager Michael Reckhow said most articles take an average of eight seconds to load on Facebook's mobile app, which is "by far the slowest single content type on Facebook."

Oculus Rift to start shipping early next year

Oculus VR, the virtual-reality technology company bought by Facebook Inc. last year, said Wednesday that it will start shipping its Rift headset in the first quarter of next year, and pre-orders will be taken later this year. 

The company said in a blog post on its website that the component will be "a full ecosystem, and a fully-integrated hardware/software tech stack designed specifically for virtual reality. It’s a system designed by a team of extremely passionate gamers, developers, and engineers to reimagine what gaming can be."

Facebook adds video calling to Messenger

Facebook Inc. said Monday it has updated its Messenger app to add video-calling capabilities.

In a press release, the company said the app, which introduced voice calling in January 2013, now accounts for more than 10 per cent of all mobile voice-over-IP calls around the world.

The company said Messenger’s more than 600 million users will now be able to have face-to-face conversations using the app on iOS and Android.

Facebook adds Canadian apps to Messenger platform

Facebook Inc. announced Wednesday that its Messenger app is being opened up as a platform for other other apps, and at least two Canadian companies have signed on to provide their services.

“Messenger Platform brings even more ways for the 600 million people who use Messenger every month to express themselves,” Facebook said in a release. “With more than 40 new apps, people can enhance their conversations with GIFs, photos, videos, audio clips and more.”

WhatsApp reports more than 700M users

WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum said on a Facebook post Tuesday that the service now has more than 700 million active monthly users, up from 450 million when Facebook Inc. announced its intention to purchase the mobile-messaging-app company last February.

"Additionally, every day our users now send over 30 billion messages," Koum said in his social media entry.

Instagram begins advertising in Canada

Instagram, the photo-sharing app owned by Facebook Inc., on Monday launched its advertising program in Canada.

The company said in a press release the first ads, or promoted posts, that show up in users’ feeds will be from Hudson’s Bay Co., Sport Chek, Target Canada, Mercedes-Benz, Air Canada and Travel Alberta.

Instagram began showing promoted posts to users in the United States about a year ago.

Facebook reports more government info requests in Canada

Canadian law enforcement and government agencies asked Facebook Inc. for users’ data more times in the first six months of 2014 than in the same period last year, the social networking platform said in the Tuesday release of the latest edition of its biannual report on government requests.

According to the report, Canadian government agencies, including police, made 263 requests for data relating to 388 users and accounts in the first half of this year. Facebook produced data in 142, or 54 per cent, of those requests, it said.

Facebook closes WhatsApp purchase

Facebook Inc.'s purchase of instant messaging company WhatsApp Inc. closed Monday, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

U.S. online industry group criticizes Canada

A coalition of some of the biggest Internet companies in the United States criticized Canada in a report released Tuesday for being a laggard in the usage and development of Internet technology to grow the economy.

Netflix announces new Facebook feature

Netflix Inc. on Tuesday announced a new recommendation feature that works through Facebook Inc.'s social network.

The provider of online TV services said in a blog that, after viewing a program, users will be asked it they want to recommend what they have just seen to their friends and family. They choose those who are sent recommendations by accessing their friends list from Facebook.

Kevin Chan representing Facebook in Ottawa

Kevin Chan has been appointed Facebook Inc.'s head of public policy in Canada.

Company spokeswoman Meg Sinclair said in an email to The Hill Times that Chan will be based in Ottawa and have an "ongoing dialogue with policy-makers about Facebook’s products and services," while also "engaging on a broad range of issues that impact the Internet sector."

Web operators must pay SOCAN for music videos

Google Inc., Facebook Inc. and Netflix Inc. must pay Canadian songwriters and publishers for music videos viewed on their services, the Copyright Board of Canada ruled on Friday.

The board certified two tariffs from the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) that cover both official music videos and user-generated content on the Internet viewed online from 2007 to 2013.

Facebook tests direct-purchase feature