New CRTC rules: 'Potentially ruinous consequences to all podcasting in Canada,' Jesse Brown warns

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is implementing new rules for some broadcasters which will impact some Canadian podcasters.

But how it will impact them remains to be seen.

The announcement has inspired a lightning rod of misinformation online, even attracting the attention of Elon Musk, who claims the move is about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attempting to “crush free speech in Canada.”

One content creator who rejects that narrative is Jesse Brown, publisher of Canadaland, the largest independent podcast network in Canada. While he doesn't believe the new steps are a means of reining in free speech, he isn't thrilled about the changes underway.

“This really is a battle between Canadian telecom giants and American web giants and small Canadian successful content creators are the roadkill caught in the middle of this,” Brown told Yahoo Canada in an interview.

The CRTC move comes in light of the Online Streaming Act, formerly known as Bill C-11, which was originally meant to create a framework in order for streaming platforms like Spotify or Netflix to promote and create Canadian content, but has since expanded to other services.

Google has criticized Bill C-11 in the past, asking Ottawa not to "regulate open platforms like broadcasters." Meanwhile, the The Online News Act, known commonly as Bill C-18, has so far impacted Canadian news content on Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, which has chosen to opt out from paying Canadian news outlets for posting news on their sites, under the required regulations.

The CRTC says these latest steps impact certain online streaming services that will be required to provide information about their activities in Canada.

This pertains to streamers operating within the country that offer broadcasting content and earn $10 million or more in yearly revenues. The CRTC has set conditions, which took effect on Sept. 29, for online streaming to operate within Canada. They now require certain online streaming services to supply them with information related to the content they offer and who is subscribing, such as contact information and type of services offered. The new guidelines also prohibit some content producers from making the content available to one specific platform or Internet service, so that Canadians are not required to change their home internet or mobile service provider in order to gain access.

According to the CRTC, under latest framework:

• Users of social media do not have to register but social media services do.

• Online services that offer podcasts must register; however, individuals who use social media to share podcasts do not.

• Online services that only provide video game services or audiobooks do not have to register.

• A list of registered services will be published on the CRTC’s website.

Brown says what the CRTC is currently doing is a far cry from the messaging he originally received on the matter from the government. He had initially been told that Ottawa wasn’t interested in targeting podcasting and instead wanted to focus on “web giants” and that people who uploaded podcasts wouldn’t be included.  

While Brown’s company doesn’t currently earn $10 million in annual revenue, the companies he relies on that provide Canadaland’s content, like Apple and Spotify, will probably be included in the changes. He says that leaves his company in the dark about what could happen next.

“Canada is demanding regulatory changes to the way they deliver podcasts, that no other country is demanding, and some other companies have said we’re not going to offer our services in Canada,” Brown says. “That would have potentially ruinous consequences to all podcasting in Canada if any of the big players were to say ‘it’s not worth the effort.’”

Brown adds that companies like CBC and Rogers, which have podcasting divisions, will be included since those companies as a whole make more than $10 million in revenue, though not exclusively from podcasts. The intention is for those companies to pay into the Canadian content industry. In turn, it is assumed that if corporations pay into the system, they’ll eventually also be able to get funding from the government for the content.

“These things just have reverberations that change everything,” Brown says. “We just don’t know and it probably will be months or years until we do know.”

Still, Brown doesn’t see this move by the CTRC being about censorship, as many on social media are claiming. The amendment comes as a result of the legacy media of Canada like Bell and Rogers, lobbying for these changes, so that competitors like Netflix and Disney+, have to pay into the same system.