The United States Embassy in Ottawa raised concerns the incoming online streaming act could discriminate against American corporations. US officials are currently in discussions with businesses about how Bill C-11, the Online Streaming Act, could impact their operations.."We have concerns it could impact digital streaming services and discriminate against U.S. businesses," US Embassy spokesperson Molly Sanchez Crowe said in a statement to the Canadian Press..Bill C-11 aims to update Canada's broadcasting law to keep pace with online streaming platforms like Spotify, Netflix and Youtube. If the bill passes, those platforms would be forced to contribute to the creation of Canadian content that is accessible to Canadians. Otherwise, the platforms would face financial penalties..Critics of the bill said with the way it's currently worded, it could also apply to amateur videos and user-generated content posted on YouTube, potentially harming their revenues..The vagueness of the bill's wording has also led to concerns the chair of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission would be given new enforcement powers to regulate "commercial" internet video and music content. "Commercial" is not defined..Peter Menzies, a former publisher for the Calgary Herald, also testified in front of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage the bill is "as likely to kill journalism in Canada as it is to save it."."The very prospect of it is already perverting news coverage and undermining trust — the commodity upon which the industry most depends," said Menzies..US Trade Representative Katherine Tai previously expressed concern about the proposed law, but did not say whether the country would launch a trade dispute..Under the United States-Canada-Mexico free-trade agreement, a country can challenge a law when it feels it is being discriminated against. International Trade Minister Mary Ng insisted the online streaming act in is line with Canada's trade obligations.
