Bell's censorship scheme
- Details
- Published on Sunday, 29 November -0001 16:00
- Written by editor
Paov, we’ve just learned Bell Canada has made another radical attempt to censor your Internet, and begin the attack on Net Neutrality here in Canada.1
Bell’s latest scheme is to pressure the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) into creating a new agency to lead the charge on website blocking and censorship. This is an attack on our freedom, and will trample on the rights of Canadian Internet users.2
This isn’t Bell’s first pitch for censorship powers. They already tried... this at the NAFTA negotiations, and now they’re taking it to the CRTC. If they fail there? They’ll take it to the government, and anyone else who will listen.
But with you by our side we can keep taking them down, time and time again. That’s why we’re asking you to join us by becoming an OpenMedia Ally today with a monthly donation.
Your ongoing support will ensure we can be Bell's shadow, following them wherever they try to push their desperate agenda to destroy the open Internet.
In this case, Bell’s proposing an Orwellian-named “Internet Piracy Review Agency” (IPRA). They want a mandatory website blocking system that introduces radical new copyright rules that would criminalize everyday online activities – without any judicial oversight.
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But this is just the tip of the iceberg – and a slippery slope towards losing Net Neutrality right here in Canada. If certain types of blocking are allowed, it puts cracks in our Net Neutrality framework that we simply can’t afford.
Bell is relentless. But so are we. Every time they lose, they head straight back to lobbying decision-makers – and we’ll be right alongside, ensuring your voices drown them out.
That's why OpenMedia's work is so critical. We’re on the front lines fighting Big Telecom everywhere they go, to keep protecting our Internet. With your ongoing monthly support, we’ll be there to keep destroying all of Bell’s bad ideas.
Our track record against Bell is strong:
- We sounded the alarm on the proposal when Bell tried to sneak it in NAFTA in September.3
- This April, we defeated their proposals to the CRTC that would undermine Net Neutrality and prioritize their own content over others.4
- In 2015, we won the right for small providers to have access to Bell’s fibre networks, to provide cheaper, faster Internet to all Canadians.5
- And we won that battle all over again in 2016 – defeating their desperate appeal to Cabinet to have our decision overturned.6
We've been fighting Bell's underhanded tactics for years, and aren't about to stop now. We even predicted this exact move of theirs just weeks ago, as the Net Neutrality debate in the U.S. heated up.7 We just didn’t think they’d be this fast.
This will be a test of endurance, and we’ll need continuous support to keep up. Bell has enormous resources at their disposal, and an army of lawyers and lobbyists. But we have something more powerful – you.
Will you sign up to become a monthly ally, and help fuel our fight? With your sustained support, we can beat them, again and again.
Yours for the open Internet,
Laura, on behalf of OpenMedia.
P.S. Even if you can’t be a monthly donor, every dollar really does make a difference for us. We really appreciate any contribution you’re able to make to set us up for the next year’s fight.
Footnotes:
[1] Inside Bell’s Push To End Net Neutrality In Canada: Canadaland
[2] Bell Leads on Radical Proposal for CRTC-Backed Mandatory Website Blocking System: Michael Giest
[3] Bell Canada: weaponizing copyright: OpenMedia
[4] Win for citizens as CRTC framework will help prevent telecoms from engaging in differential pricing practices: OpenMedia
[5] Big Internet providers must open fibre networks to competitors: CRTC: Globe and Mail
[6] Huge win for Canadians, as Minister Bains rejects Bell Canada’s attempt to block small providers from ultra-fast Fibre Internet: OpenMedia
[7] Yes, the U.S. net neutrality debacle will impact people in Canada. No, we can’t sit on the sidelines: r32 If you no longer wish to receive our r46 to unsubscribe.
