Canada’s proposed Online Streaming Bill Canadian is starting to make creators sweat.
Catch-up: The idea of the proposed bill, which is sitting with the Senate, is to hold streamers (including Netflix, TikTok, and Spotify) to the standards of Canadian broadcasting laws.
- Big Tech, creators, and academics have criticized the bill by pointing out that some Canadians in Canada might not be “Canadian enough” to produce content.
So, why are creators getting dragged into the mix? Last month, the Association of Film Distributors proposed that the bill should also force streamers to ensure that 30% of content served up to Canadians (via search and in-feed algorithms) must be Canadian.
- One internet law expert said no other country “has anything close” to this requirement and streamers would likely have to remove content from their platforms to meet it.
Some popular Canadian TikTok and YouTube creators have expressed they would move to the US or use VPNs to change their location to avoid needing to file the paperwork that certifies Canadian content under current broadcast law, per The Globe and Mail.
- YouTube Canada contributed $1.1 billion to Canada’s GDP in 2021, and channels earning $100,000+ annually rose 35% from the year prior, per Oxford Economics.
Why it matters: Rules that promote Canadian content are needed to make sure the market isn't dominated by US-made content (which typically promotes US culture and mostly supports the US economy), but tabling a bill that would drive away creators away and potentially limit the choices available to Canadian audiences could have the opposite effect.