With all the control the government has been taking over us you’d think it would start to ease off after COVID-19. But yet again, the Canadian government has announced a new bill that’s flown under the radar. Introducing Bill C-11, also known as the Online Streaming Act. The proposed act that entered the house of commons on Feb 2, 2022, essentially gives the government control over the internet and streaming platforms such as YouTube. The Canadian government is trying to take control of the internet the same way they did with Television and Radio.
One of the major downsides of Bill C-11 is for content creators, especially small creators that are just getting their channels up and running as they’ll be subject to a large number of rules and regulations. Canadian creators will have a hard time getting their content seen online as Bill C-11 prioritizes Canadian content in front of Canadian viewers. Although you might be asking yourself “why is this a bad thing?”, majority of views for a Canadian content creator come from outside of Canada. With content only being shown in front of Canadian viewers, how will small channels grow and be seen on a global scale?
For viewers, Bill C-11 would make platforms such as YouTube, Netflix, and TikTok force suggest Canadian content that people might not normally choose to watch, rather than curated content that matches their preferences.
Let’s take a look at the downside of force feeding Canadian content. If people aren’t watching and clicking off of the Canadian content that’s being suggested, it’ll make the video seem ‘unpopular’ according to YouTube’s algorithm. This will result in the content being less promoted around the world. YouTube’s algorithm, which applies cross border, can see whether a video is being disliked, ignored, watched, and played half way through. This influences how the video will do in Canada and around the world. Obviously, videos with low views won’t be shown as much as videos with more likes, shares etc. For more information on Bill C-11 checkout Lacey Lee Elliot's video down below.
Click HERE to view the official Bill.
“Clearer definitions and more precise language are needed to ensure the bill doesn’t unintentionally scope in digital creators and negatively impact the thousands of Canadian creators on YouTube and the millions of Canadians who use YouTube every day,” says Jeanette Patell, head of government affairs and public policy at YouTube Canada. This statement goes to show how tricky the government can be. If people such as Jeanette find it difficult to decipher this bill, then how are small content creators supposed to understand? Just another slimy bill to control the people by the government of Canada. Always watching out for the people eh?
As the government continues to abuse its control over the people it’s important that the small guys and businesses stick together and offer continuous support for each other. The only way that the government's slimy actions won’t have as big an impact on us is if we create our own communities and infrastructures. Although their actions and laws have hurt us in the past, let’s stick together and keep moving forward.
