From revenue-sharing rules for streaming giants in Canada to govt authorising intelligence agency to intercept calls and messages in Pakistan, here’s everything we covered at Digital Rights Monitor (DRM) this week.
Read our weekly news roundup.
CANADA: Streaming platforms oppose revenue sharing with local media outlets
Popular streaming platforms have vehemently opposed the law requiring them to pay a portion of their revenue to support media outlets in Canada, according to a report by Reuters.
The Online Streaming Act, which was passed last year, requires global streaming giants such as Netflix and Disney to pay 5 per cent of their revenue generated in Canada to support local broadcasting system, which includes news production.
At the time of its passage, proponents of the legislation had said that it would ensure promotion of Canadian stories and music in addition to jobs in the domestic market.
In April 2023, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), the lead broadcasting regulator, had laid out the demand of sharing 5 per cent of revenue generated by streaming services, which also include YouTube and Spotify, with the local media industry.
More here
PAKISTAN: TikTok removes more than 20m videos over guidelines violations
TikTok removed over 20 million videos from Pakistan in the first quarter of 2024 over violations of its community guidelines, according to the company.
In its latest Community Guidelines Enforcement Report, TikTok has disclosed taking down about 20,207,878 between January and March 2024. According to the report, 93.9 per cent of the videos were removed within 24 hours of posting, while the proactive removal rate stood at 99.4 per cent.
The volume of videos removed has significantly risen in comparison to the last quarter of 2023, when TikTok took down 18.5 million videos from the Pakistani market.
The United States (US) leads the list with more than 35 million videos removed, followed by Pakistan.
More here
PAKISTAN: Intelligence agency officially authorised to trace, intercept calls and messages
The government has officially authorised the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to trace and intercept calls and text messages in the “interest of national security”, according to a notification.
According to the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT), the authorisation for surveillance has been granted to the ISI under Section 54 (National security) of the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organisation) Act, 1996.
Section 54 of the Act states that in the interest of national security, the federal government may authorise any person or persons to intercept calls and messages or to trace calls through any telecommunication system.
The officer nominated by the intelligence agency for the designated task should not rank below Grade-18.
More here
PAKISTAN: Intelligence agency surveillance challenged in court
The government’s authorisation of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to trace and intercept calls and messages for “national security” has been challenged in the Lahore High Court (LHC), according to a report by Dawn.com.
In a petition filed by a citizen named Mashkoor Hussain through his lawyer Nadeem Sarwar, it is stated that telephone-tapping is a serious invasion of an individual’s privacy. “With the growth of highly sophisticated communication technologies, the right to hold telephone conversation, in the privacy of one’s home or office without interference, is increasingly susceptible to abuse,” the complaint reads.
The petition calls for the impugnment of the notification issued by the federal government regarding the surveillance, terming it a violation of the Constitution of Pakistan.
On Monday, the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT) officially granted powers to the ISI, the lead intelligence agency, to intercept phone calls and text messages in the “best interests of national security”. The permission was granted under Section 54 (National security) of the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organisation) Act, 1996.
More here
