Law Bytes: A Podcast With Michael Geist

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In recent years the intersection between law, technology, and policy has exploded as digital policy has become a mainstream concern in Canada and around the world. This podcast explores digital policies in conversations with people studying the legal and policy challenges, set the rules, or are experts in the field. It provides a Canadian perspective, but since the internet is global, examining international developments and Canada’s role in shaping global digital policy is be an important part of the story. Lawbytes is hosted by Michael Geist, a law professor at the University of Ottawa, where he holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law and where he is a member of the Centre for Law, Technology and Society.

In recent years the intersection between law, technology, and policy has exploded as digital policy has become a mainstream concern in Canada and around the world. This podcast explores digital policies in conversations with people studying the legal and policy challenges, set the rules, or are experts in the field. It provides a Canadian perspective, but since the internet is global, examining international developments and Canada’s role in shaping global digital policy is be an important part of the story. Lawbytes is hosted by Michael Geist, a law professor at the University of Ottawa, where he holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law and where he is a member of the Centre for Law, Technology and Society.

More Information

Location:

Canada

Genres:

Technology Podcasts

Description:

Twitter:

@lawbytespod

Language:

English

Website:

http://www.michaelgeist.ca/

Episodes

Episode 24: A Tribute to Ian Kerr

9/16/2019

The first episode of the new season of the Lawbytes podcast is dedicated to my good friend and colleague Ian Kerr, a giant in the law and technology field, who passed away on August 27th after battling complications arising from cancer. The episode features five clips that each call attention to different strengths. Ian reading from Carl Sagan opens the episode, highlighting Ian’s innate ability to bridge disciplines and reach a wide audience. The episode also features two house of commons...

Duration:00:42:44

Episode 23: The WIPO BRIP Database - Rick Shera on the MEGA Experience and the Dangers of False IP Claims

8/6/2019

The last episode of Season One of the Lawbytes podcast (new episodes will resume in September) returns to WIPO, the World Intellectual Property Organization and its proposed BRIP database. The BRIP database, which stands for Building Respect for Intellectual Property, will be a database of allegedly infringing websites. The BRIP database currently envisions the possibility of lobby groups such as the movie and music associations inserting sites in the database with no oversight, no review,...

Duration:00:28:04

Episode 22: Navigating Intermediary Liability for the Internet - A Conversation with Daphne Keller

7/29/2019

The question of what responsibility should lie with Internet platforms for the content they host that is posted by their users has been the subject of debate around in the world as politicians, regulators, and the broader public seek to navigate policy choices to combat harmful speech that have implications for freedom of expression, online harms, competition, and innovation. To help sort through the policy options, Daphne Keller, the Director of Intermediary Liability at Stanford's Center...

Duration:00:34:30

Episode 21: Why Canada Has Some of the Worlds Highest Wireless Data Prices

7/22/2019

Canada has a well-earned reputation for some of the highest wireless prices in the world with numerous comparative studies finding that consumers pay relatively high prices for low amounts of data. Rewheel Research, a Finland based consultancy, has been at the forefront of pricing comparisons with extensive analysis of mobile data pricing in countries around the world. Its reports have often called out Canada, recently noting that prices are “a world apart” from more competitive markets....

Duration:00:38:51

Episode 20: Why Canadian Universities Should Get Out of the Patent Game - Richard Gold on Canada’s Failed Research Commercialization Strategy

7/15/2019

Technology transfer in the university context has emerged as significant policy issue with governments seeking to maximize the benefits of public investment in research at Canadian universities. But what if maximizing commercialization opportunities does not mean prioritizing patents? Professor Richard Gold from McGill University’s Faculty of Law joins the podcast to discuss the failure of patent first strategies and why open science may offer a better path for commercialization success.

Duration:00:36:34

Episode 19: Canada's Quiet Success Story - Irene Berkowitz on the Canadian YouTube Creative Sector

7/8/2019

New creators leveraging online platforms don’t typically participate in government consultations, but that doesn’t mean their voice and experience should be ignored. Ryerson’s Irene Berkowitz recently released Watchtime Canada, a report on the role YouTube plays in fostering opportunities for creators. The study found an eco-system that provides thousands of Canadians with full-time employment opportunities and export strategies that outshine the traditional creative sector. She joins me on...

Duration:00:29:13

Episode 18: Open to Open Banking?: My Appearance Before the Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce

7/2/2019

Open banking, which is designed to allow customers to easily share data held by their banks with third parties, has been attracting considerable attention in recent months. The Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce conducted a study on open banking this spring with a report released in late June. I was invited to appear before the committee to discuss regulatory concerns, particularly with respect to privacy and data protection. Given that it is a holiday week in Canada...

Duration:00:35:44

Episode 17: What To Do About Huawei? - Christopher Parsons Unpacks One of Canada's Most Challenging Policy Issues

6/24/2019

What to do about Huawei? The Chinese telecom giant has emerged as one of Canada’s most challenging policy issues, raising concerns involving competition, communications, security, and trade not to mention kidnappings and arrests of corporate personnel. The government has repeatedly promised to articulate a policy on the use of Huawei equipment in Canada’s next generation wireless networks only to regularly delay doing so. Dr. Christopher Parsons, a senior research associate at the Citizen...

Duration:00:36:40

Episode 16: The Copyright Review Report: Carys Craig on the Roadmap for the Future of Canadian Copyright Law

6/17/2019

In December 2017, the Canadian government launched its much-anticipated and much-lobbied review of Canadian copyright law, tasking the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology to lead the way. After months of study and hundreds of witnesses and briefs, the committee released its authoritative report with 36 recommendations earlier this month. Carys Craig, a law professor at Osgoode Hall Law School and one of Canada’s leading copyright law experts, joins the podcast to help sort...

Duration:00:38:08

Episode 15: Cows, Cars, and Copyright: A Conversation With Myra Tawfik on the IP Concerns With Implementing Canada-US-Mexico Trade Deal

6/10/2019

The new NAFTA - dubbed the USMCA or CUSMA depending on where you live - took a significant step forward recently with the introduction of Canadian legislation designed to ratify the treaty. The economic implications of the agreement are enormous, particularly with respect to digital issues and intellectual property. Myra Tawfik, a law professor at the University of Windsor and Senior Fellow with CIGI, joins the podcast to discuss Canada’s longstanding history of facing external pressure on...

Duration:00:35:45

Episode 14: Big Data, Privacy and Democracy: A Conversation With Nathaniel Erskine-Smith on the International Grand Committee

6/3/2019

The debate over big data, privacy and its implications for democracy came to Ottawa last week as the International Grand Committee brought together the world’s biggest technology companies, politicians from around the world, and leading thinkers. Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, the Vice-Chair of Canada’s ethics and privacy committee, joins the podcast to reflect on the three days of hearings, the prospect for global reforms, and what comes next for the committee.

Duration:00:40:19

Episode 13: Digital Charter or Chart: A Conversation With Teresa Scassa on Canada’s New Digital Charter

5/27/2019

Years of public consultation on Canadian digital policy hit an important milestone last week as the Canadian government released its Digital Charter, which touches on everything from universal Internet access to privacy law reform. Professor Teresa Scassa, the Canada Research Chair in Information Law and Policy at the University of Ottawa, joins the podcast to discuss its contents and consider whether the new policy initiative is more chart than charter.

Duration:00:38:51

Episode 12: The Past, Present and Future of Open Access to Law

5/21/2019

The free and open access to law movement is committed to providing free and open online access to legal information. This includes case law, legislation, treaties, law reform proposals and legal scholarship. This week’s Lawbytes podcast highlights perspectives on free and open access to law from Australia and Canada, featuring conversations with Professor Graham Greenleaf, the co-founder of AustLII, the Australasian Legal Information Institute, and Xavier Beauchamp-Tremblay, the current CEO...

Duration:00:44:24

Episode 11: Reinterpreting Canadian Privacy Law - David Fraser On Cross-Border Data Transfers, the Right to De-Index, and the Facebook Investigation

5/13/2019

Daniel Therrien, the Privacy Commissioner in Canada, is in the courts battling Google over a right to de-index. He’s calling for order making after Facebook declined to abide by his recommendations. And he’s embarked on a dramatic re-interpretation of the law premised on incorporating new consent requirements into cross-border data transfers. David Fraser, one of Canada’s leading privacy experts, joins the podcast to provide an update on the recent Canadian privacy law developments and their...

Duration:00:35:54

Episode 10: Lowdown on Lawsuits - James Plotkin on Copyright Threats, Notices, and Lawsuits

5/6/2019

Copyright threats and lawsuits against individuals have been around in Canada since 2004, when they were rejected by the federal court. Those threats receded for about a decade, but now they’re back. Copyright notices, litigation threats, settlement demands, and actual lawsuits have re-emerged at the very time that the music and movie industries are experiencing record music streaming revenues in Canada and massive popularity of online video services. James Plotkin, a lawyer with Caza...

Duration:00:39:10

Episode 9: The CRTC Watcher - A Conversation with FRPCs Monica Auer

4/30/2019

Many Canadians follow telecommunications and broadcast issues at the CRTC from a distance – the cost of wireless services, the speed of their Internet access, the availability of broadcasting choice. Others engage more closely on issues such as net neutrality, Cancon regulation, or Netflix taxes. But there is one Canadian who doesn’t just follow the CRTC. She watches it through the use of access to information laws that present a perspective on the CRTC that would otherwise remain hidden...

Duration:00:36:36

Episode 8: LawBytes Lecture - What the Canadian Experience Teaches About the Future of Copyright Reform

4/22/2019

In late March of this year, I travelled to Canberra, Australia to deliver a keynote address at the Australian Digital Alliance’s 2019 Copyright Forum. The ADA is a leading voice on copyright issues in Australia and its annual Copyright Forum brings together government, creators, education, libraries, and the broader public to explore copyright issues. This week’s Law Bytes lecture podcast features a recording of my address, which used real data to dispel the misleading claims about the...

Duration:00:49:26

Episode 7: What if Copyright Law took Authors Rights Seriously? A Conversation with Professor Rebecca Giblin

4/15/2019

What if copyright law took authors rights seriously? Many groups claim to do so, but Professor Rebecca Giblin, one of the world’s leading experts on creator copyright, isn’t convinced. Professor Giblin argues that creators are often placed at the centre of the debate only to be largely ignored by other stakeholders. Professor Giblin joins this week’s podcast to talk about her Author's Interest Project, the latest data, and why Canadian artist Bryan Adams may be on to something when it comes...

Duration:00:36:42

Episode 6: “A Dangerous Game to Play:” A Former CRTC Vice-Chair Speaks Out on the Commission Plan to Regulate and Tax the Internet

4/8/2019

For the better part of two decades, Canadian cultural groups have been pressing Canada’s telecom and broadcast regulator, the CRTC, to regulate and tax the Internet. The CRTC and successive governments consistently rejected the Internet regulation drumbeat, citing obvious differences with broadcast, competing public policy objectives such as affordable access, and the benefits of competition. That changed last year when the CRTC released “Harnessing Change: The Future of Programming...

Duration:00:28:58

Episode 5: A Huge Threat to How the Internet Functions Now

4/1/2019

Most treaties are negotiated behind closed doors with no text made available until after a deal has been reached. Yet there is a treaty with enormous implications for the Internet, copyright, and broadcasting that has been hidden in plain sight for the better part of two decades. Jamie Love of Knowledge Ecology International joins the podcast to talk about the draft Broadcasting Treaty currently being negotiated at the World Intellectual Property Organization that could extend the term of...

Duration:00:31:09