Canada Passes Bill to Force Streaming Services to Promote Canadian Content; Highlight Native Languages
The cost of doing business in Canada just got a little more expensive for streaming providers. A controversial bill that overhauls Canadian broadcasting laws to bring the regulations on streaming platforms like Netflix, Disney+, and HBO Max closer in line with those that govern traditional linear TV has passed through the Canadian Senate and received royal assent, meaning it is now law.
The bill, designated C-11 or “The Online Streaming Act,” requires streamers to pay to support Canadian media content, like TV, movies, and music. It also requires streaming platforms to promote Canadian-made content in English, French, and Indigenous languages. If streamers fail to comply with these stipulations, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission is empowered to impose fines and other financial penalties.
The public debate over the bill became acrimonious at times. Its detractors claim that the bill could lead to internet over-regulation and censorship, while its supporters posit that the bill will give a much-needed boost to the Canadian media and arts sectors.
“Online streaming has changed how we create, discover, and consume our culture, and it’s time we updated our system to reflect that,” said a government news release regarding the bill.
“Under this archaic system of censorship, government gatekeepers will now have the power to control which videos, posts and other content Canadians can see online,” said a conservative website opposed to C-11.
The bill is not intended to regulate user-generated content, such as videos on Tik Tok, YouTube, and other social media platforms. Google and other tech giants have warned that the bill could degrade the user experience for user-generated content, but its supporters call those criticisms inaccurate.
Canada is not the only nation that imposes such rules on streamers. The Australian government is planning to introduce a law to install content quotas, and the EU requires streamers to offer at least 30% local content on their services. That means that streaming providers should be fairly accustomed to these types of regulations by now, though there may still be some public pearl-clutching by streaming companies in reaction to the new Canadian law.
One outcome of the new law is that Netflix may see its percentage of American-made content fall even further. Less than 50% of the service's library is content made in the United States, and while Canada is currently 10th on the list of countries contributing to that library, the new regulations now in effect mean it could start to climb that ladder fairly quickly.
Such a law is unlikely to be instituted in the U.S., where most of the content on TV and streaming is made domestically anyway. But it does mean that if streaming companies want to do business in Canada — and they do — they’ll have to help promote the Canadian production industry by making more content in Canada and featuring it specifically on their platforms.
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