CRTC turns to Reddit to solicit pricing input
• Canada’s telecom regulator is for the first time using Reddit, a popular albeit irreverent online forum, as an official feedback channel as it prepares to set rules on the controversial practice of differential pricing.
The Canadian Radio- television and Telecommunications Commission ( CRTC) launched a five- day discussion thread on the website Monday to solicit comments on the tactic in which Internet and mobile providers charge different prices for different types of data traffic. Proponents including BCE Inc. and Telus Corp. argue the practice is a type of discount that leads to great deals for consumers, while opponents counter it hurts net neutrality and competition by turning Internet providers into gatekeepers.
Redditors and industry watchers alike questioned whether Reddit is the best place for a government discussion given the portal isn’t exactly known for politically correct dialogue.
But using Reddit is a way to get comments from individuals who otherwise wouldn’t participate in a government process, CRTC spokeswoman Patricia Valladao wrote in an email. The new consultation method fits with the watchdog’s new “digital first” policy, she said.
“The CRTC has noticed that discussions on differential pricing and our process were already taking place on Reddit,” Valladao wrote. “This is a great opportunity to get comments from interested individuals who might not otherwise participate in this proceeding to share their points of view.”
All comments will become part of the public record, but the government body deletes comments that include racist or sexist language, hate speech or personal attacks. Reddit users joked that inappropriate names ( some featuring female body parts) could end up on the public record, whereas others hoped the group would keep it clean so the regulator would actually listen.
“I really hope the community as a whole doesn’t mess this up. Last thing we need is the organization … to write us off as a bunch of idiots,” one user wrote.
Contrary to expectations, the discussion remained largely respectful after more than 140 users commented on the first day. Not surprisingly for a site that attracts frequent Internet users that skew younger, the discussion tilted against differential pricing with many people arguing for a ban on data caps entirely.
The Reddit forum is just one part of a larger, tradi tional consultation that culminates in a five-day public hearing on differential pricing beginning Oct. 31. The process was prompted after complaints about Quebecor Inc.- owned Videotron’s unlimited music service, which lets customers on certain plans stream as much music as they want without counting it towards their data caps. ( This is also called zero-rating.)
Companies including Bell, Facebook and AT&T have submitted interventions to the formal hearing. The public can comment on the subreddit at reddit. com/r/canada until Friday at 8 p.m.