Bill C-11 is law now. But we still don’t know what it does

On today’s Big Story Podcast, the passing of Bill C-11 is the biggest piece of broadcast or media legislation this country has seen in decades. You would think we’d have a clear picture of its implications. But despite receiving royal assent and becoming law, not even leading experts in the field can say what the bill’s many changes will look like in practice.

Dr. Michael Geist is a law professor at the University of Ottawa and holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law. He says this is a bill with profound implications both for creators and consumers of basically any kind of digital media.

“Rather incredibly, there are no thresholds in this legislation. And in fact, it applies to all audio-visual content anywhere.”

What counts as a streaming service? What counts as digital Canadian content? Will user-created content be subject to the same regulations as corporate-made media?

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