press release

Big Telecom company responds after being caught restricting access to online services

February 3, 2012 – In what pro-Internet group OpenMedia.ca is calling a victory for Internet openness, Rogers has responded to the CRTC’s Compliance and Enforcement division saying that they will cease throttling (the slowing of traffic) on their networks.

In a letter to the CRTC, Rogers acknowledged the complaints made by the Canadian Gamers Organization—a group that spent the past year demonstrating Rogers’ discriminatory practices to the CRTC—and laid out a timeline for the correction of this problem...

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Event to Inform Criticism of Proposed Bills That Would Allow Warrantless Electronic Spying

Ottawa, ON – In response to proposed bills that would allow warrantless electronic surveillance of Canadians, the Ottawa community is invited to join digital affairs experts and political representatives—including the NDP's Charlie Angus and the Green Party's Elizabeth May—for a lively panel discussion. The event, sponsored by a growing list of public interest organizations, will take place Wednesday, February 8, at the St. Paul University Amphitheatre (223 Main Street).

The Political Panel will be moderated by the prolific digital affairs critic Michael Geist, the Canada Research Chair for Internet and E-commerce Law. To begin, however, a panel featuring some of Canada’s sharpest minds—including cybersecurity specialist Christopher Parsons and communications law expert Kirsten R. Embree—will detail the dangers of the federal government’s impending "Lawful Access" legislation, dubbed "Online Spying" by Canadians.

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CBC seen as a opportunity amidst Canada’s “digital deficit”

Sunday, January 29, 2012 – OpenMedia.ca and Leadnow.ca are set to launch a national campaign to “Reimagine the CBC”. This campaign invites Canadians to come together to share their ideas about the future of the CBC, using an online discussion forum.

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Police lobby sends a call-out amidst lingering questions about upcoming bills

January 18, 2011— The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) is scrambling to find ways to justify upcoming bills that would allow warrantless surveillance of law-abiding Canadians’ online private information, says pro-Internet group OpenMedia.ca.

OpenMedia.ca today released the contents of an message that the CACP recently sent to law enforcement officials, which asks them to provide examples, even those with “confidential operational information”, of situations in which current privacy provisions have hindered investigations. The CACP is attempting to counter what they call “ill-informed criticism” from the public in regards to the proposed legislation—known as the “Lawful Access” or “online spying” bills.

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U.S. Stop Online Piracy Act awakens dissenting Canadians

January 18, 2012— Pro-Internet organization OpenMedia.ca is joining groups in the U.S. and Canada in darkening its website, in an effort to raise awareness about upcoming American legislation called the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). OpenMedia.ca joins domain registrar Tucows, Identi, and Internet law expert Michael Geist in so doing.

OpenMedia.ca is also providing an online tool that allows Canadians to join their U.S. counterparts, and millions of people worldwide, in speaking out against controversial censorship bills.

SOPA is a U.S. bill designed to block websites based offshore that peddle illegal content, but many groups and prominent websites—including Wikipedia, Google, Amazon, and Reddit—argue that it would fundamentally reshape the Internet for the worse.

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Event to bring attention to bills that would allow warrantless online spying

January 12, 2011—In response to the government’s proposed online spying bills OpenMedia.ca will host the Vancouver premiere of the mini-documentary (Un)Lawful Access: Canadian Experts on the State of Cyber-Surveillance on Thursday, January 12, at the W2 Media Cafe (111 W. Hastings St., Vancouver).

This event is more than just a screening: it will include a panel discussion featuring BC Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham, and will serve as the launch of the BC Civil Liberties Association's much-anticipated report on online spying: Moving Toward a Surveillance Society – Proposals to Expand “Lawful Access” in Canada.

The report—considered the most comprehensive to date—puts the final nail in the coffin of the hotly contested online spying bills.

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Canadian cell phone users could stand to face higher prices, warns group

January 11, 2012 – As Ottawa prepares to release the framework that will shape the future of mobile in Canada, a new campaign titled "Stop the Cell Phone Squeeze" is urging Canadians to speak out against the Big Three providers’ near-oligopoly on the cell phone market.

OpenMedia.ca—the group behind the half-a-million strong Stop The Meter campaign protesting usage-based billing, and the Stop Online Spying campaign, responsible for removing invasive online spying bills from the omnibus crime package—is calling on the Industry Minister to stand up against the Big Three, and save choice and affordability in the cell phone market.

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OpenMedia.ca says Big Telecom companies snuck pricing hikes into CRTC decision

January 4, 2012 – OpenMedia.ca is asking the CRTC to conduct a transparent audit and review of Internet infrastructure costs. The group’s campaign against usage-based billing this year resulted in a reexamination of the policy, structure, and costs associated with access to Internet infrastructure. OpenMedia.ca is now reporting that big telecom companies appear to have convinced the CRTC to include punitive and greatly inflated cost in the new Internet pricing model.

In response to these costs, indie ISP Teksavvy just announced that they will have to raise most of their rates between $3 and $4. Teksavvy also wrote, however, that they would be still be able to offer unlimited packages, and more flexible usage-based packages due to the recent CRTC decision on Internet metering.

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CACTUS report shows cable companies are misusing independent media fund

WHAT:

After reviewing the Big 4 Cable Companies’ management of local media, CACTUS (the Canadian Association of Campus and Community Television User Groups and Stations) has found that they failed to meet minimum standards for community programming, instead using public money to fund their own programming.

The Big Cable companies—Cogeco, Rogers, Shaw and Vidéotron— have used their control over this levy to break the rules regarding media diversity in Canada. Two percent of the money Canadians pay for cable (nearly $1 billion to date) is meant to support local, independent media. The CACTUS report shows that Canadians are going without the diverse media sources we pay for because Big Cable funnels this public money back into their own stations.

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WHAT:
Bell, Canada's largest Internet provider, has decided to pull back some of the discriminatory restrictions it has been imposing on the Internet for the last several years, namely the slowing (throttling) of online content.

Over the last few years, many Canadian ISPs have attempted to justify Internet openness violations by claiming that certain types of traffic make their networks unmanageable. Bell’s move today demonstrates clearly that this is not the case.

This announcement is further evidence that ISPs are breaking Internet openness rules when they restrict access to online services.

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December 12, 2011 – The CRTC has found that Bell Mobility breached Vertical Integration rules banning carriers from giving access to TV programming exclusively to their own subscribers. Bell gave itself a significant competitive advantage by entering into exclusive agreements for the mobile rights to popular broadcast content.

“Canadians shouldn’t be forced to subscribe to a wireless service from a specific company to access their favourite content,” said Konrad von Finckenstein, Q.C., Chairman of the CRTC in a press release. “Healthy and fair competition between service providers will promote greater choice for Canadians.”

Broadcast content is becoming more available and more popular via Internet and mobile devices, and large, vertically integrated companies like Bell are easily able to take advantage.

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CRTC reconsiders ruling that would let Big Telecom companies control independent competitors, Canadians urged to use indie services

November 15, 2011 – The CRTC has released its decision on Internet metering (usage-based billing), and pro-Internet organization OpenMedia.ca is celebrating it as a step forward for the open and affordable Internet. The decision comes as the result of public pressure, channeled primarily through the group’s Stop The Meter campaign, which included a petition that attracted over half-a-million Canadians.

While there is easily room for criticism, the CRTC’s decision today should allow independent ISPs to survive and help them facilitate an unlimited and unmetered Internet for Canadians. Unfortunately, many Canadians will continue to lack independent, affordable, unmetered Internet access.  

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WHO:
Steve Anderson, Executive Director, OpenMedia.ca
Lindsey Pinto, Communications Manager, OpenMedia.ca

WHAT:
The CRTC has just announced a media/stakeholders lock-up in Toronto, on November 15th from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM, when they will announce their decision on Internet metering (usage-based billing). OpenMedia.ca will be at the lock-up, and will be announcing the results of the CRTC hearing to the pro-Internet community and the press shortly thereafter.

The policy to be announced is the result of a hearing the CRTC held in July, which resulted from the popular and political success of OpenMedia.ca’s petition at http://StopTheMeter.ca.

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OpenMedia.ca commends LPC House Leader Garneau for standing up for Canadians’ privacy rights

November 8, 2011 – The movement against online spying took one giant leap today when Marc Garneau, the Liberal Party of Canada’s House Leader, released the party’s position on the pending online spying (“Lawful Access”) bills. The Liberals’ statement is in line with concerns expressed by OpenMedia.ca, the Stop Online Spying Coalition, Canada’s Privacy Commissioners, and the 75,000+ Canadians who have signed the petition at http://StopSpying.ca.

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CRTC’s enforcement division to handle complaint against Rogers restricting access to online services

October 27, 2011— The Canadians Gamers Organization’s (CGO) current battle against Rogers hit a major milestone today. The CRTC sent a letter to the CGO today stating that their complaint against Rogers limiting access to online games—which violated Canada’s Internet openness rules—would be moved to its enforcement division for further action. Though the exact nature of the penalty Rogers will face is still unknown, the CGO and pro-Internet organization OpenMedia.ca, are glad to see the CRTC finally recognize that Rogers has been breaking rules and restricting online choice.

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Letter to Toews from Office of the Privacy Commissioner condemns online spying bills

October 27, 2011 – The federal Privacy Commissioner, Jennifer Stoddart, sent another letter to Public Safety Minister Vic Toews today, warning him about the implications of the proposed online spying legislation. The letter touches on many of the points raised by pro-Internet organization OpenMedia.ca, which in partnership with the Stop Online Spying Coalition, hosts a 75,000-strong petition and public engagement campaign in opposition to online spying.

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October 19, 2011—According to a recent email obtained by OpenMedia.ca, Bell has decided to start pulling back the discriminatory restrictions it has been imposing on online services for the last several years:

“Effective November 2011, new links implemented by Bell to augment our DSL network may not be subject to Technical Internet Traffic Management Practices (ITMP). [...]While congestion still exists, the impact of Peer-to-Peer file sharing applications on congestion has reduced.”

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Gamers demonstrate Rogers’ restrictions, ask for open access to online games

October 17, 2011—The Canadian Gamers Organization (CGO), a group currently at the forefront of the fight for net neutrality (Internet openness), has submitted their final response to the CRTC’s request for information. The CGO has been fighting Rogers for discriminating against online applications—namely World of Warcraft and Call of Duty Black Ops—using illegitimate Internet traffic management practices.

The filing comes after months of back and forth between Rogers, the CRTC and the CGO.

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