'Slippery slope': Opposition mounts to Canadian media's plan to block piracy websites

CBC News Website ^ | Feb 18, 2018 | By Sophia Harris

[jerod]

Critics fear the plan could lead to rampant internet censorship

Opposition is mounting to a media coalition's plan to block Canadians from accessing piracy websites.

Many people fear that the plan — backed by big players such as Bell, Rogers, and CBC — could lead to rampant internet censorship.

"It starts with 'blocking piracy' and ends with corporations blocking information that opposes their goals and viewpoints," wrote Thomas Herr from Barrie, Ont., in a submission to the CRTC on the issue.

He's one of more than 5,000 Canadians who has submitted an opinion on the piracy site blocking plan to the CRTC after the broadcast regulator invited comments.

Many submissions express deep concern about the proposal.

"The start of a slippery slope," wrote Charlotte Bush from Richmond Hill, Ont.

"Abuse of the system is inevitable," said Renaud Bissonnette from Laval, Que.

'People are scared'

The submissions started flowing in after the coalition of more than 30 members — including media companies, unions and creative industry associations — submitted their request to the CRTC on Jan. 28.

They propose that the CRTC create an independent agency to identify blatant piracy websites that internet providers would then be required to block their customers from accessing.

[jerod]

All of the major media outlets in Canada, including the CBC (commonly referred to as the Communist Broadcasting Company), are for blocking content...

And oddly enough the CBC actually has this story on their website and they 'allowed' commenting... They typically pick and choose which stories they will allow or not allow commenting on, so when they actually allowed commenting on this story, I couldn't resist... I submitted the following comment which of course, they DISABLED, so that my comment would not appear...

Comment disabled

Nothing should ever be blocked on the internet. Such actions are a clear example of totalitarian Socialism at its worst and sadly this country under the leadership of Trudeau is heading in that direction faster than most people realize. The CBC began that process two or three years ago when they began choosing arbitrarily which stories you can or can't comment on.... That was the first slippery slope of many to come.

Freedom... When you take it for granted, you occasionally fail to realize that you are losing it.

The creep of Socialism is slowly engulfing Canada and I fear if Justin not ready Trudeau gets reelected, that the freedom of speech and religion will likely disappear altogether.

[I want the USA back]

They start with this, then move on to thoughts that they disapprove of.

[ronnie raygun]

Trudeau is like America electing a snowflake right out of college to the presidency

[BobL]

“All of the major media outlets in Canada, including the CBC, are for blocking content...”

Trying to get back to the ‘old ways’ - where ALL INFORMATION had to flow through and be ‘approved’ by the media, before the masses could access it.

This is VERY DANGEROUS now, if your media is even one tenth as politicized as our media. The stuff I’ve seen regarding the complete un-interest by the media in they spying on Americans that the FBI and other agencies did scares me more than anything before, and I’ve seen a lot before.

They play hard-ball now - it’s no different than if the DNC went over and seized those media outlets - and replaced everything with campaign propaganda. I mark that date as 2004, when they crossed the final line (Dan Rather and the fake draft letter).

In the past, they would at least try to report on things that didn’t go their way - to the point that they helped drive Jimmy Carter out of power, not because they liked Reagan, but because they reported enough of the truth. This will NEVER happen again, not with our media.