There are time where the ‘liberal’ artsy fartsy crowd really grates on my last nerve and in Canada they are at it again. Right now there is a lot of discussion going on within the Canadian government and affected agencies about copyright, consumer access and cultural policies.
As it is the U.S. entertainment companies and their related trade group stormtroopers are trying hard to influence our current set of copyright laws to make them just like the ones in the U.S. However it appears that at the same time we have our own homegrown culture goodie two shoes crowd trying to muscle in on Canadian policy as it related to entertainment on the web.
To understand why they are doing this you need to know about a cultural policy that Canada has had for years when it comes to tradition media. This policy is referred to as Canadian Content (Cancon) and it means that the television and radio companies give up a portion of their income to cultural groups in Canada in order that they can produce Canadian shows (TV or radio - but mainly television).
In addition television networks are required by law to show ‘X’ number of hours of Canadian produced televisions shows per week. With radio they are required to paly ‘X’ number of songs per day that have been recorded by Canadian musicians.
Now these same groups that hold the Cancon noose around traditional media want to extend that to the Internet. The problem is that because the Internet is global in nature it is very hard to guarantee Canadian content but that isn’t dissuading these cultural groups in the least.
They have proposed that the same types of mechanisms currently in place could be adapted to work with the Internet and to do this they want Internet service providers to hand over a portion of their subscriber revenues for the creation of new Canadian media content.
I have one simple thing to say to these groups - piss off and get a real life.
In this case as much as it pains me to say I am on the side of the ISPs in their opposition to this kind of proposal. I don’t care what kind of self-righteous argument these idiots want to put forth to justify such an inane and stupid idea. The idea that ISPs would just willingly give up even a single red cent to anyone without trying to recoup that money show exactly how brain dead these screwballs are.
The moment the government; through agencies like the CRTC, mandates this countries ISPs to had over a portion of their revenue those self-same ISPs will just turn around and raise our rates. Don’t kid yourself into thinking that they won’t either because if you think not then you are as much an idiot as the culture groups proposing this stupidity.
Like Michael Geist said today in a post about this idea
Canadian cultural groups, the biggest proponents (and beneficiaries) of this policy approach argue that similar mechanisms can be adapted to the Internet by requiring Internet service providers to hand over a portion of their subscriber revenues for the creation of new media content. ISPs unsurprisingly oppose the proposal, arguing that an Internet tax is inherently unfair since it forces all subscribers to fund content in which they may have little interest. Moreover, they note that such a scheme may also be illegal since it applies the Broadcasting Act to telecommunications activities.
I grew up with a father who was a television show writer in Canada and I know first hand how as well meaning this idea of ensuring the Canadian identity through such things as Canadian Content might be. The reality is that we have suffered through years of second rate television shows and being the brunt of many a joke within the industry.
Trying to do the same thing with content on the web is nothing short of pointless and offers no real guarantee of quality content there either. Tie this in with the fact that it will only be the Canadian Internet user who will get hurt in the pocket book I would really hate to see this idea get any traction at all.
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