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PaperclipPerfector  11mo ago (text post)   32471 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of May 1, 2023

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Streaming Bill Regulating Netflix, Amazon And Co In Canada [Finally] Becomes Law

Felt like it's been a slow-motion battle happening for years right past the horizon.

The key impact of Bill C-11 is that streamers such as Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+ will now be regulated by similar laws to those overseeing the country’s networks.

In practice, the streaming services are now required to “contribute to the creation and availability of Canadian stories and music” and “pay their fair share in supporting Canadian artists, just like traditional broadcasters,” as per government bill guidelines issued last year. Canadian networks are compelled to hit certain quotas to fulfil terms of their licenses.

Basically: major streamers content sites will be obliged to push more Canadian content like television broadcasters are. For internet companies the goal would be to provide them with an incentive to increase the visibility of "Canadian" (defined by the government) content.

I'm...ambivalent. On the one hand, I constantly attack Canada for having limited independent cultural generation or even political discourse. So I find it hard to be too critical at them for taking proactive steps to push Canadian content. The cultural exception is an old concept at this point.

On the other hand...I just...don't trust the Canadian governments' competence at actually pushing "Canadian" (which they'll define for us) content. It's possible that this'll lead to more "non-descriptly Canadian" shows, but also more Nickelback-style shows (one common explanation for why they're hated is CanCon requirements meant radio stations had to play some Canadian and they benefited disproportionately, with a corresponding backlash).

There's also the question of just how this'll affect Canadian content creators (especially individuals uploading in spaces like Youtube), who probably benefit from basically being seen as indistinguishable from Americans and don't necessarily want the government putting its finger on the scale of what content gets rewarded. It might lead to less good Canadian content, as creators who could probably do a "one for us, one for them" model might find that harder. Or just lead to the people being promoted being part of a government-sustained, low-stakes artistic ghetto that can't be allowed to fail or we might have to give up on this "cultural sovereignty" thing.

pay their fair share

Such a poisoned statement. So often used as an excuse to weaponize taxation. At this point I interpret it as the opposite of its literal meaning.

Yeah it's really irritating that they hide the premise that regular people watching TV owe money to untalented artists just for existing.

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