The Great Canadian Content Debate 🍁

Bill C-11, Canada’s new Online Streaming Act, is now law. And content creators and tech giants alike are seeing red.

04 May

"Your focus determines your reality."

— Qui-Gon Jinn

👋 Friends, Rallie here. The crypto and tech newsletter wishing you a happy May the fourth!

On the menu:

  • 🍁 Canada's new content laws

  • 🗞️ Headlines that hit

  • 📈 Refresh: Breaking down blockchain

  • 💯 Top tweets

The Rallie Recap

🚩 Bill C-11, Canada’s new Online Streaming Act, is now law. And content creators and tech giants alike are seeing red.

  • After over two-and-a-half years of review, the Canadian government passed a new law, called Bill C-11, that makes tech companies like YouTube and TikTok support Canadian cultural content.

  • The law gives the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) broad authority to regulate social media platforms, similar to how it currently regulates Canadian radio and television.

  • Here's the skinny: since the 1970s, the CRTC has been in charge of regulating broadcasters, including setting standards for the minimum amount of Canadian content a radio or television station must play. It also requires broadcasters to spend at least 30% of their revenue producing Canadian content.

  • Fast forward to the current decade, and algorithms from Spotify, YouTube and TikTok dominate the content Canadians see, without abiding by the same Canadian content rules... a loophole the government says Bill C-11 now closes.

  • Although it's unclear what the final regulations will look like, the new law has many fuming, from TikTokers to major tech companies (YouTube even took out ads in Toronto's subway decrying the bill last year).

  • Meanwhile, the Canadian government says the bill is necessary to stop streaming giants from getting a free ride, and will promote local artists.

  • A big issue with Bill C-11 is a clause that would require streamers and social networks like YouTube and TikTok, to "clearly promote and recommend Canadian programming, in both official languages as well as in Indigenous languages"... and to do that, platforms would have to change their algorithms, an expensive undertaking to say the least.

  • Experts also say the law leaves the door wide open for CRTC overreach, with others (like the great Margaret Atwood) likening it to Soviet censorship. Yikes.

Headlines That Hit

Rallie Refresh: Breaking down blockchain

If you're a tech enthusiast, you've likely heard the term "blockchain" thrown around - but what exactly is it? Well, don't worry, we got you! Here's what you need to know:

  • Simply put, a blockchain is a digital ledger that records transactions and information in a secure and transparent way.

  • Instead of being stored in one central location, the information is spread out across a network of computers, making it virtually impossible to tamper with.

  • Each transaction is verified by a network of users, rather than a central authority, making it more trustworthy and less prone to corruption.

  • The most famous use case of blockchain technology is Bitcoin, a digital currency that uses blockchain to record transactions.

  • Blockchain has far-reaching implications beyond just currency. It can be used in industries from healthcare to real estate to ensure secure and accurate record-keeping.

There you have it!

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DISCLAIMER: This is not financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions.