Canada’s broadcast regulator says Ottawa could be forced back to the drawing board if streaming companies win their legal battle over the Online Streaming Act.
Appearing before MPs, CRTC chair Vicky Eatrides was asked what would happen if the courts side with streamers who are fighting new rules. Bloc Québécois MP Martin Champoux pressed her on whether the regulator could issue another ruling or if Parliament itself would have to change the law.
“It depends on the decision,” Eatrides told the committee in French, reports The Canadian Press.
At the heart of the case is a CRTC order that forces streaming platforms to hand over five per cent of their Canadian revenues to support domestic content such as local news. The Federal Court has put that requirement on pause while it reviews the challenge, a move that could cost at least $1.25 million per company every year if it doesn’t survive.
Scott Shortliffe, the CRTC’s vice-president of broadcasting, said some companies have still chosen to contribute money during the court fight, with the funds held in trust. “They are not legally required to do that. They have chosen to do so,” he said, adding the money is managed by an independent group and not the CRTC directly.
Even as the court weighs the case, the regulator is pressing ahead with other parts of the law. “We will see what the courts decide. And in the meantime, we will continue on administering the act,” Shortliffe said.
Apple, Amazon, Spotify, Netflix and other global streaming platforms are challenging a federal order that is forcing them to pay millions towards Canadian content.
The Motion Picture Association – Canada, which speaks for streaming giants including Netflix, Paramount, Disney+ and Warner Bros. Discovery, is challenging the part of the order that deals with funding local news. The group argues the CRTC has not explained why platforms with no involvement in journalism should be required to subsidize Canadian broadcasters.
The Online Streaming Act, passed last year, extended the CRTC’s authority to global platforms like Netflix, Disney+, and YouTube. Whether it survives in its current form may now hinge on how the courts rule.
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