Jeanette Patell, YouTube's chief of government affairs for Canada, has expressed deep concern over Bill C-11, which would, in her opinion, affect even "everyday content" posted and consumed by Canadians.
"[The bill] provides the CRTC the discretion to regulate user-generated content like a fan doing a cover song or someone making cooking videos in their kitchen or doing how-to-fix-a-bike videos," said Patell, claiming that the wording of the bill is "overly broad."
The bill's supporters in Parliament claim that ordinary Canadians have nothing to worry about, according to True North.
"We have been extremely clear: Only platforms have obligations. Users and creators will not be regulated. Platforms are in, user-generated content is out," argued Laura Scaffidi, speaking for the Ministry of Heritage, which is responsible for having drafted the bill.
"Users of online and social media services expect freedom of expression, and they will continue to enjoy this under the new Broadcasting Act," also stated Ian Scott, the chairman of the CRTC under the Trudeau administration.
Twitter has also repeatedly voiced concerns over the new bill, saying that the bill's language is reminiscent of other countries perceived to be much more authoritarian. Michele Austin, Twitter's public policy manager, said in 2021:
"People around the world have been blocked from accessing Twitter and other services in a similar manner as the one proposed by Canada by multiple authoritarian governments – China, North Korea, and Iran, for example – under the false guise of 'online safety,' impeding people's rights to access information online."
Scott's predecessor at the CRTC, Timothy Denton, agreed wholeheartedly with Austin, saying, "It is creepily totalitarian, something you might expect out of China or Russia."
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