Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

The CRTC sits up

To be fair to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, there isn’t a country on the planet that has figured out how to manage the Internet.

To be fair to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, there isn’t a country on the planet that has figured out how to manage the Internet. If they’re not censoring, then they’re up to their eyeballs in court cases and legal challenges.

Still, it’s been about 10 years since the CRTC looked at the distribution of digital content over the web, deciding back in 1999 that it was probably best to leave the ’net unregulated.

All things considered, it was probably the best approach at the time. The web needed that time to grow, evolve and become entrenched in our lives, to get to the point when more than 90 per cent of Canadians have the option of subscribing to high speed Internet, and 60 per cent of Canadians actually do so.

The founders of the Internet realized early on that any ham-fisted attempts to regulate the web using the same policies as television and radio would defeat the whole purpose of building the network. The Internet was meant to be the opposite of traditional media, a network without limitations that belonged to everyone instead of a few entrenched companies. So far so good, but it hasn’t been easy to keep the web open to all.

However, the fact that more people are using the Internet for traditional uses — movies and television and music — has prompted the CRTC to review its decision to let Internet broadcasting go largely unregulated. According to a Canadian Press story, the CRTC will limit its review to commercial applications of the web instead of individuals. If groups make money from distribution, like Netflix or iTunes, then there’s a real possibility they’re going to have to abide by the same regulations as others.

That’s something I do support. While I’m not entirely happy with the way the entertainment industry has embraced the Web, suing downloaders and placing those annoying “You wouldn’t steal a car” ads at the start of every DVD I legally purchase or rent — and I’m horrified at the thought that “fair use” would be redefined in such a way that anybody who makes a mixed CD for their girlfriend is a fugitive from justice — I do think the industry needs to be thrown a bone when they do something right.

One of the biggest reasons there’s so much crap on television these days is the fact that television is still, for all intents and purposes, free. The money you pay on your cable bill goes to your cable company and not to the networks that produce the programming.

The result of past deregulation pushed by the cable industry has been a massive increase in the number of stations available, which has meant less advertising revenue for networks. Networks everywhere are cutting costs, opting for “reality” television instead of scripted shows, while the handful of telecommunications companies that distribute their programs get wealthier and wealthier.

Some cable distribution companies do own stations like specialty channels, and produce original content as required by the CRTC, but that content only makes things worse for the networks by creating more competition for the attention of the audience.

The networks are busily trying to get a share of that subscription money from the telecommunications industry, but haven’t had much luck. That’s why most of them find the web so compelling — a distribution network that is wide open, and where they can profit directly from the shows they make without relying entirely on declining advertising revenues and arts grants.

This is also the reason for the television writers’ strike last year — writers were being screwed out of royalties on DVD releases of television shows by the networks, who were desperate for new revenues, and the same writers didn’t want to be screwed out of royalties for profits made distributing shows through the Internet as well.

Complicating matters, many of the same companies that distribute radio and television signals also own the networks to distribute the same materials over the web. They like the status quo just fine, and would be reluctant to let television companies distribute their media through the Internet for profit without profiting as well. Either their subscribers or the companies offering the content are going to have to pay extra to use all that bandwith.

As you can imagine, there are bad feelings on all sides. While the CRTC has to step in as moderator, they also have to come up with a solution that benefits all parties instead of just applying the same rules that apply to radio and television to the web. A policy should do more than further enrich telecommunications companies, or continue the same policies that have created so much acrimony between the people who make the content and the people who distribute it.

It’s going to be an interesting battle.

 

Website of the Week

There is a hierarchy of programming out there, starting with the lowliest HTML to the highest C++. Each language is limited in different ways, but each has its place in the hierarchy of computing.

One of those programming languages — actually a web-based programming platform — is Macromedia’s Flash. Most high-end websites are using Flash these days to make the site interactive, show video, drop-down menus, and more. It’s also become a platform for a breed of simple but compelling games.

Kongregate (www.kongregate.com) has thousands of links to those games, of every variety, and you could spend days trying out the most recommended titles.

New at www.kongregate.com/labs is a free tutorial that actually teaches you how to make your own Flash-based games. You’ll need a copy of Macromedia Flash, which doesn’t come cheap, but that’s about it.