Jon Festinger
Class 5 Slides
Slides from today can be found here, with a few additions.As promised I’ve added some slides on the Sega TV saga – the game download service from 1995 that the CRTC considered licensing. As well, in the context of the Hush-A-Phone device that arguably laid the groundwork for breaking up the Bell monopoly in the […]
Question of the Week (Class 5): Will the “Singularity” be achieved by the year 2065?
The Singularity (AKA) the technological singularity is defined by Wikipedia as “the hypothesis that the invention of artificial superintelligence will abruptly trigger runaway technological growth, resulting in unfathomable changes to human civilization. According to this hypothesis, an upgradable intelligent agent (such as a computer running software-based artificial general intelligence) would enter a “runaway reaction” of self-improvement cycles, with each […]
News of the Week; January 24, 2018
MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS & NET NEUTRALITY Bell Canada, et al. v. Attorney General of Canada (Motion to Stay CRTC Decision Denied, January 24, 2018) Vice’s Canadian cable TV channel is going off the air, after low ratings and reported losses for the $100 million joint venture Mozilla, Consumer Groups Sue The FCC For Its Attack On […]
A clear explanation of (parts of) Net Neutrality from Burger King
As we will see later in the course “net neutrality” is a concept that has multiple meanings. Many of its frequently contested interpretations are projected McGufins that communications activists, pundits, regulators, and lawyers chase around in concentric spirals of ever deepening confusion. Into the fray (of all corporate persons) comes Burger King who brilliantly and […]
Confirmed (almost): U.S. Super Bowl commercials will be on television in Canada this year
As we all pretty well predicted last class, there will be U.S. commercials available through U.S. stations on cable whose $5M per 30 second ads won’t be simultaneously substituted in Canada during Super Bowl LII. Or almost certainly anyways. Now that the Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to hear Bell’s leave to appeal application on […]
Class 4 Slides
Here are this week’s slides… Jon
Question of the Week (Class 4): Should there be “should’s” in S. 3 of the Broadcasting Act?
As you may have already noticed S.3 of the Broadcasting Act (S.C. 1991, c. 11) is bit different from most other statutory provisions you might have come across. It is rather full of the word “should”. This is in stark contrast to most statutory drafting norms and, interestingly for our purposes, quite different in style if not […]
News of the Week; January 17, 2018
MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS & NET NEUTRALITY Rogers employees say managers turn a blind eye so call centre workers can lie and cheat customers: ‘We do not believe the concerns raised represent our values or sales practices,’ Rogers says Judge Sweet: Fox News’s Statement that It Took “Decisive Action” After Assault Allegation Does Not Disparage the Unnamed […]
