Foreign streaming companies like Netflix and Disney+ could be subjected to broadcasting policy objectives from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).
These companies “have an impact on the broadcasting system,” Scott Shortliffe, the CRTC’s executive director of broadcasting, told the National Post.
“And we pose the question, how and should they contribute to the attainment of the act? But for other players in the system, we haven’t even gone that far … we’re asking, do they have a material effect on the broadcasting system,” Shortliffe continued.
The commission is currently working to implement the Online Streaming Act, which requires streaming platforms to contribute to Canadian content. The Online Streaming also allows the CRTC to apply the Broadcasting Act to online platforms.
The commission recently ordered online platforms, including social media and podcast services, generating more than $10 million in broadcasting revenue in Canada annually to register their business.
Shortliffe told the National Post a couple of dozen platforms would need to register, given the $10 million threshold, including “two or three” companies providing podcast services. But just because a company has to register doesn’t mean the CRTC will impose rules on them immediately.
“We’re not leaping from registration to say, well, this means now we can start imposing detailed rules on you,” Shortliffe said. “It’s saying, no, we think you have an effect on the system, and we want to make sure that if we need to ask you questions in the future, we have the authority to do so.”
If the CRTC does decide to order online services to follow the obligations, the commission will hold a public hearing, Shortliffe said.
Source: National Post
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