Google Warns CRTC: Regulating YouTube Like TV Will Backfire

Google is pushing back hard against the idea that YouTube should be regulated like traditional TV, telling the CRTC that Canada’s outdated broadcast rules have no place in today’s open and user-driven internet.

Speaking at today’s June 25 CRTC hearing, Arun Krishnamurti, Senior Counsel with Google Canada, warned the Commission against forcing old regulatory tools onto modern platforms. Teague Orgeman, product counsel for YouTube, was also at the hearing alongside Krishnamurti.

“The digital landscape has indeed fundamentally transformed content creation and consumption,” he said. “To be successful, a regulatory approach must recognize the distinct nature and profound contributions of online platforms like YouTube.”

Google says YouTube isn’t like a traditional broadcaster because it doesn’t control what gets uploaded—users do. “Our model thrives on individual user preferences, where content is pulled based on what users want to watch, not ‘pushed out’ in the way traditional broadcasters have operated,” Krishnamurti told commissioners.

The company argued that YouTube already promotes Canadian content naturally through user choice and global reach, without the need for regulatory intervention. “Such top-down rules would interfere with the organic success Canadian creators have already found,” said Krishnamurti.

Google also pushed back on suggestions that YouTube should be forced to share user data or be subjected to old frameworks like “undue preference,” which were designed for big cable companies. “There is no evidence of market failure or adverse outcomes which warrant action by the Commission in these areas,” Google argued.

Referencing the Broadcasting Act and federal policy directions, Google said the law clearly excludes most user-generated content from CRTC oversight and warned that new rules could damage competition and privacy.

“In conclusion, Google urges the Commission to exercise caution and restraint,” said Krishnamurti. “There is simply no rationale for transposing traditional regulatory tools onto online undertakings… The stated policy principle for this proceeding should be to ensure user choice in content and the ability to consume that chosen content, not to direct Canadians in which content they must consume.”

The CRTC hearing titled, ‘The Path Forward – Working towards a sustainable Canadian broadcasting system’, continues today and through to July 4, 2025, in Gatineau, Quebec.

What do you think? Should YouTube be regulated like traditional TV?