Bill C-11, the Online Streaming Act, updated the country’s laws around broadcasting for the first time since 1991. Its journey through Parliament was confusing and controversial. The bill passed in the Senate, received royal assent and became law in April, 2023. Here’s everything you need to know.
What does Bill C-11 do?
The Online Streaming Act makes YouTube and streaming platforms such as Netflix and Disney Plus promote Canadian content – such as music, TV and film – the way Canadian radio stations and TV networks are required to do already. It also requires those streaming companies to contribute financially to the production of Canadian content.
On June 4, 2024, the CRTC announced streaming platforms that are not affiliated with a Canadian broadcaster and make at least $25-million a year will have to pay 5 per cent of their annual Canadian revenues.
The estimated $200-million in funding each year will support the creation of Canadian film, TV, music and local news, and will be also directed toward the creation of Indigenous content, French language film, TV and music and productions by black film makers and other Canadians from diverse backgrounds.
The regulator will later update the definition of “Canadian content,” and will look at whether to expand it to include productions that previously wouldn’t have ticked enough boxes to qualify. An example of this was Disney’s Turning Red, which is about a Chinese-Canadian teen in Toronto and stars Ottawa-born Sandra Oh, a film widely considered Canadian that didn’t count as an official Canadian production.
What opposition is there to Bill C-11?
The main opposition to Bill C-11 came from the Conservatives, YouTube and Canadian digital-first creators who post video content on the platform. They were concerned that ambiguity in its wording could lead to the regulation of people posting amateur videos.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre argued that the legislation’s language opened up the floodgates for algorithmic manipulation – a level of interference they insisted would be no less than full-on government censorship.
Conservative heritage spokeswoman Rachael Thomas said influencing what Canadians see, by asking platforms to promote more Canadian content, including songs and films – rather than presenting them with options based on their own tastes – was a form of censorship.
Some creators have argued that the language in the bill is unclear, and therefore they don’t know if their content will be subject to the new rules or how the new rules will change the content they’re in competition with.
How will Bill C-11 affect the average Canadian?
With the announcement of the 5 per cent contribution from streaming platforms, Michael Geist, the University of Ottawa’s Canada Research Chair in Internet Law, warned the extra payments could be passed onto consumers through higher prices.
Canadians may see more Canadian productions on streaming platforms such as Amazon Prime Video, Netflix and Crave, similar to the way they hear Canadian songs and see Canadian shows when watching the radio or broadcast television.
For now, YouTube is expected to be the only social media platform that comes under the scope of the bill, so Canadians can presume that the apps they scroll each day and the content they consume on them will remain the same.
How will Bill C-11 affect creators and artists in Canada?
Some artists’ groups argued that the legislation’s language didn’t go far enough in forcing American giants to support Canadian content as much as domestic counterparts. Others insisted the new law opened the door to massive overreach, potentially creating upheaval for creators on YouTube and TikTok trying to get their videos to the masses, despite promises that everyday users wouldn’t be affected.
The announcement of a 5 per cent contribution requirement would contribute an estimated $200-million a year directed at supporting Canadian broadcasting, some of which is earmarked for Canadian creators and artists.
How will the 5 per cent contribution funds be distributed?
- 2 per cent will support Canadian film and TV productions through the Canada Media Fund, or by directly funding the creation of film and TV programs.
- 0.5 per cent will go to the Black Screen Office Fund, the Canadian Independent Screen Fund for BPOC (Black People and People of Colour) creators or the Broadcasting Accessibility Fund.
- 0.5 per cent will go to The Indigenous Screen Office of Canada, an independent funding organization designed to support the telling of Indigenous-led stories across film, television and digital media, will receive 0.5 per cent of the money.
- 0.15 per cent will go to The Indigenous Music Office, a new fund to support Indigenous music, by December to help it get set up.
- 1.5 per cent will support local Canadian broadcast news through the Independent Local News Fund.
- 0.5 per cent will go to the Community Radio Fund of Canada.
A brief timeline of Bill C-11
1999 — With the emergence of audio and video distributed via the internet, the CRTC issues an exemption order: Although they might qualify as broadcasters, the regulator would excuse new media from the Canadian-content requirements with which conventional television and radio broadcasters must comply.
2010 — U.S.-based Netflix enters the Canadian market and soon signs up one million subscribers. Meanwhile video-sharing platform YouTube becomes increasingly important as a music-discovery service. Industry observers begin to debate whether and how Canadian-content regulations covering TV and radio will be updated for a borderless online world.
2015-17 — The Liberals’ first minister of heritage Mélanie Joly says the new government will address the issue and she launches a cultural policy review. A much trumpeted $500-million deal with Netflix is panned, as that was the amount the service was already spending in Canada.
2019-21 — The new heritage minister Steven Guilbeault takes a tougher line on the file, saying web giants must pay their fair share. He introduces Bill C-10, which would bring foreign streaming services into the Canadian regulatory environment. But Guilbeault has trouble explaining how it will exempt user-generated content on social-media sites. The bill dies on the order paper when the Senate adjourns for summer holidays in 2021.
2022-23 — A third heritage minister has more luck: Pablo Rodriguez pushes what is now Bill C-11 through Parliament. He accepts some amendments from the Senate but, despite promises that user-generated content will not be targeted, rejects a final amendment stating that outright. The Online Streaming Act, an amendment to the Broadcasting Act last updated in 1991, becomes law.
2024 — The CRTC announces a yearly 5 per cent contribution requirement for streaming giants to support broadcasting in Canada.
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With reports from Marie Woolf, Josh O’Kane, Kate Taylor, The Canadian Press