Canadian fireworks likely following passage of internet interference bill in Quebec
News on 27 May 2016
News on 27 May 2016
Apparently disregarding repeated warnings regarding interference with the internet from legal and other experts, Quebec provincial lawmakers this week voted for Bill 74, a law that obliges Internet Service Providers in the province to block gambling websites.
The bill authorises the province’s lottery and online gambling operator Loto-Quebec to compile a black list of what it regards are illegal operators and send this to ISPs, who will then have 30 days to implement the blocks or face punitive fines of up to Cdn$100,000.
The legislation has been widely condemned as impractical, possibly illegal in terms of federal telecommunications laws, and blatantly anti-competitive (see previous reports).
Local ISPs have already been highly critical of the bill, citing both legal and pragmatic reasons, and have threatened to contest its probity through the judicial system.
Supporters of the new law have displayed remarkable candour in repeatedly claiming that the legislation will reduce competition and increase the contribution from Loto Quebec’s Espace Jeux online gambling enterprise to the provincial government Treasury by around Cdn$13.5 million in 2016-17 and Cdn$27 million a year thereafter.
Federal politicians have pointed out that Quebec’s law violates the national policy of Internet Neutrality and contravenes federal telecommunications laws.
Others have observed that any law that stifles competition in favour of a government partner is unlikely to be sanctioned by the courts.
Quebec’s Finance Minister, Carlos Leitao, has said in the past that he is confident that the province can get around federal law complications by treating Quebec’s internet blocking legislation as a “public health issue” falling within the province’s authority (see previous reports).
Local press reports suggest that the provincial government in Quebec is “not the most Net-savvy or even consistent,” quoting an instance in 2014 in which lawmakers supported a motion to register government websites under a .quebec suffix, only to subsequently row back from it.
