Net Neutrality: Canada Splits With U.S., Moves To Strengthen Laws

Moving in the opposite direction from the United States, where the Federal Communications Commission plans to dismantle rules ensuring net neutrality starting on June 11, Canada’s House of Commons last week voted to strengthen that country’s rules guaranteeing an open internet. In fact, all 277 House of Commons members who cast votes on the measure last week gave the thumbs up to a motion establishing net neutrality as a “guiding principle” of telecommunications regulation in Canada. But 61 members cast no vote on the bill, meaning that technically, the net neutrality legislation did not pass unanimously. Under net neutrality rules, ISPs may not charge consumers more for certain types of content — for example, porn sites — compared to others. While Canada already has strong regulations that favor an open internet — one in which internet service providers must allow equal access to the ‘net for all sites and content providers without blocking or slowing data from any site — no Canadian law specifically mentions the phrase “net neutrality.” The motion voted on last week and authored by Liberal Party Member of Parliament John Oliver, however, did exactly that. The motion, however, does not carry the force of law, even with the 277-0 vote in favor. Instead, it calls on Canada’s government to “further enshrine in legislation the principles of net neutrality.” “I’m thrilled that after debate, my colleagues from all parties agreed that this is a critical issue of our times,” Oliver said following the vote. “It was very rewarding to see that work can be done across the aisle, and to have unanimous support of the House is amazing. I think it sends a very clear signal that this is something that Canadians believe in. It signals a clear commitment to placing consumers and content creators first.” In the United States, under Donald Trump-appointed FCC head Ajit Pai, exactly the opposite approach has become the guiding principle of the Trump administration and the Republican Party when it comes to the telecom industry. But three Republican Senators joined 47 Democrats and two independents last week on Wednesday — the same day of Canada’s House of Commons vote — in a vote to keep Obama-era net neutrality rules in place. But the House must also pass the measure, and Trump must sign the bill rather than veto it, in order to preserve a U.S. open internet. According to Laura Tribe, director of the advocacy group Open Internet, the end of net neutrality rules in the United States will directly affect Canadians. “There will be impacts for us here in Canada. So the first one which, is probably going to be the most immediately felt is that the costs are going to go up for some of the services that we love,” Tribe told the Canadian Broadcasting Company. “So if Netflix has to pay extra to make sure that it's in internet fast lane in the U.S., they're going to have to pass those fees onto their customers. And it's really unlikely that the limit that to just their American customer base.” Image by Camilo Sanchez / Wikimedia Commons