Media Links: Who will really benefit from a digital strategy?

Collaborated article with OpenMedia.ca colleague, Reilly Yeo

Find this article in The Tyee, rabble.ca, VUE Weekly, and Common Ground.

You probably haven't heard about it, but as you read this, the government is in the final days of its effort to gather input from Canadians about the country's digital future. On May 10, at a major conference with tiered levels of access to leaders in industry and government, Industry Minister Tony Clement announced a 60-day consultation on a digital economy strategy.

The consultation will run until July 9, and will inform government policy around key issues such as media ownership, internet openness, broadband access, cell phone rates and competition, support for digital media production and much more. Clement's choice to announce the consultation at an industry conference seems appropriate considering what key documents reveal about its intended audience.

What about society?

To frame and inform the consultation, the government produced a consultation paper "Improving Canada's Digital Advantage" that outlines key issues. The paper is narrowly framed in the language of efficiency and competition; the emphasis is on "maximizing reliance on market forces," through protection of the "legitimate interests" of internet service providers and other industry players. According to the government's website, "it is business that must lead the charge and execute the game plan." No document speaks so clearly to the government's approach to digital policy: the marketplace and industry come first.

This also sheds light on why the government only began this consultation after getting its marching orders from a series of closed-door meetings with industry groups. It appears the government believes the interests of big business are synonymous with what's best for Canada. The choice to focus on a "digital economy" strategy rather than a digital society strategy speaks volumes. Does digital policy not have social or cultural implications?

Read the rest of this article on Common Ground's website.

Steve Anderson is the national coordinator for OpenMedia.ca. He is a contributing author of Censored 2008 and Battleground: The Media and has written for The Tyee, Toronto Star, Epoch Times, Common Ground, Rabble.ca and Adbusters.

Reach me at:
steve@openmedia.ca
http://www.facebooksteve.com/
http://www.steveontwitter.com/
http://medialinkscolumn.com

Media Links is a syndicated column supported by CommonGround, TheTyee, Rabble.ca, VUE Weekly

Media Links by Steve Anderson, CommonGround, TheTyee, Rabble.ca, VUE Weekly is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Canada License. You must attribute this work to Steve Anderson, CommonGround, TheTyee, Rabble.ca, VUE Weekly