Are Canada's public broadcaster and the country's biggest cable company on a collision course?
Ottawa (21 March 2008) - Will Rogers Cable try to will interfere with customer attempts to download an episode of the popular show, Canada's Next Great Prime Minister?
Noted internet law expert Michael Geist reports that the CBC is planning to become the first major North American broadcaster to freely release one of its programs without Digital Rights Management (DRM) – using the popular file-sharing software, BitTorrent.
Following the airing of CBC show, the network will release a high-resolution version via peer-to-peer networks without any DRM restrictions, which allow publishers and copyright holders to limit the use of digital media.
Geist wonders whether Rogers will co-operate.
"Using BitTorrent allows the CBC to meet its statutory mandate, yet with Internet service providers (ISPs) such as Rogers engaging in non-transparent traffic shaping, millions of Canadians may be unable to fully access programming funded by tax dollars," Geist says.
According to the Broadcasting Act the CBC is required it to make programming "available throughout Canada by the most appropriate and efficient means." Using the peer-to-peer software is an obvious step towards fulfilling this mandate.
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) supports the efforts of Canada's public broadcaster to experiment with alternative forms of distribution. It is expected that other broadcasters will follow suit if the CBC trial proves popular. In turn, this may put pressure on the CRTC to address net neutrality concerns. NUPGE
More information:
National Union and the Internet
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Twitter
Google
