CRTC declines to regulate online broadcasting
By Adnews Staff
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has announced that it will maintain its current approach regarding broadcasting content distributed over the Internet and through mobile devices. New media broadcasting services will continue to be exempt from CRTC regulation. "While broadcasting in new media is growing in importance, we do not believe that regulatory intervention is necessary at this time," said Konrad von Finckenstein, chairman of the CRTC. "We found that the Internet and mobile services are acting in a complementary fashion to the traditional broadcasting system. Any intervention on our part would only get in the way of innovation." The commission expects to review this decision within five years. In the meantime, it will ask the the Federal Court of Appeal to determine whether the Broadcasting Act should apply to Internet service providers when they provide access to broadcasting content. The commission also endorsed the need for Canada to develop a national digital strategy.