Lobbyists representing Canadian songwriters, composers and music publishers are calling on the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to take an expansive interpretation of the Trudeau government’s Bill C-11 and regulate video game content.
ACCORD, a lobby group representing Canada’s music industry, wants the CRTC to ignore segments of the Heritage ministry’s draft directive on the implementation of the Online Streaming Act pertaining to the exclusion of video game regulation.
In justifying the proposed change to the government’s draft directive to ignore video games from regulation, ACCORD says that the Online Streaming Act was always meant to regulate broadcasting platforms while avoiding user regulation.
They say that video games have become an important facet of broadcasting in recent years, pointing to the introduction of “concerts” in video games that may warrant regulation from the CRTC.
“Given the intersection between video games and broadcasting, and in particular the existence of live concerts in what could be interpreted as video games, it is prudent to let the CRTC determine whether obligations should apply.”
The popular game Fortnite had hosted several in-game concerts with big name musicians like Ariana Grande, Travis Scott, and Marshmello during the Covid-19 pandemic, though it is unclear whether or not the game’s developers plan on continuing their concert series.
In addition, the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists is calling on the government to mandate “video online undertakings” grossing more than $1 million in annual revenue to register and submit to regulation under the CRTC. This would include content creators, specifically video game streamers and YouTubers.
U of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist says that Canadians who opposed Bill C-11 because of concerns the CRTC would regulate beyond the legislation’s stated limits have had their concerns validated.
“In short, the lobby groups validate the concerns expressed by thousands of Canadians that Bill C-11 opened the door to the regulation of user content, video games, and algorithms,” said Geist.
Regulation of video games by the CRTC opens the door for the regulator to throttle search results and featured content on digital video game marketplaces like the Xbox Game Pass, the PlayStation Store, or Steam.
The CRTC could also throttle search results for Canadian gaming creators on streaming and video platforms like Twitch and YouTube.
True North reached out to Heritage Canada for comment on the matter, but they were unable to provide one before the time of publication.
