CRTC rejects call to block content pirates, cites lack of jurisdiction

TORONTO — A coalition of media organizations suffered a setback in their fight against so-called content pirates on Tuesday when the CRTC said it doesn’t have authority to police the activities they want shut down.

The FairPlay Canada coalition that includes Bell Canada, Rogers, the CBC and other large media companies had asked the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission in January to help protect their ownership and licensing rights by setting up an independent agency to help locate websites with pirated material.

The coalition also wanted the CRTC to require internet providers to block access to pirated material.

The CRTC said it agrees “piracy causes harm to the Canadian broadcasting system and the economy” but that it didn’t consider the proposal because it doesn’t have jurisdiction under the Copyright Act.

The CRTC said “there are other avenues that are more suitable to address this issue, such as the reviews of the Copyright Act, the Telecommunications Act and the Broadcasting Act.”

University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist, who had strenuously argued a similar position in numerous blog posts and opinion pieces published by mainstream media earlier this year, said on his website Tuesday that the CRTC’s denial of the site blocking applications is “an important step toward stopping a dangerous proposal.”

In a phone interview from Fredericton, Geist said his main concerns included a lack of court oversight in the process originally proposed by the coalition.

He said there’s also the risk of limiting freedom of expression, if an anti-piracy watchdog blocks too much, and a risk to competition because large companies have more resources than smaller internet service providers that may disagree with orders to block content on the basis of copyright infringement.

Geist added that he expects Bell will continue its anti-piracy campaign through other venues.

Bell owns Canada’s largest telecom network, including residential television and internet services, as well as Bell Media — which owns the CTV television network, specialty TV channels and production facilities.

Earlier Tuesday, the Federal Court of Appeal issued a 2-1 split decision in Bell’s favour after it argued the CRTC exceeded its authority to enforce a “wholesale code” governing producers and distributors of television content.

The CRTC said it will carefully review the Federal Court of Appeal’s decision but had no further comment at this time.