Internet Service Providers are not broadcasters.
The Supreme Court of Canada has dismissed an appeal by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, on the question of whether retail Internet Service Providers ("ISPs") carry on, in whole or in part, "broadcasting undertakings" subject to the Broadcasting Act when, in their role as ISPs, they provide access through the Internet to "broadcasting" requested by end-users.
The court held that they do not.
Its decision runs counter to arguments made by several Canadian cultural groups and media practitioners that argued ISPs deliver content identical to that viewed on TV. As well, they argued, many ISPs are offering exclusive and commissioned content on their networks, and or blocking the content of others.
Nevertheless, the Federal Court of Appeal ruled that since ISPs don't have input into the content of programming, they are not covered by the country's Broadcasting Act.
The case was heard on Jan. 16, and has been dismissed with costs.
The Canadian Media Production Association, the Director's Guild of Canada, the Writer's Guild of Canada and the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists are among those that appealed the original decision made by the Federal Court of Appeal almost two years ago.
The CRTC had asked the court to review that decision.
Most of the country's largest ISPs were defendants in the case, including Bell Canada, MTS Allstream, Rogers, TELUS, Shaw and Videotron.
The Broadcasting Act is "not meant to capture entities which merely provide the mode of transmission," the court wrote in its decision. "The Broadcasting Act makes it clear that 'broadcasting undertakings' are assumed to have some measure of control over programming."
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