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The Trudeau government passed the controversial C-10 digital bill on Tuesday that seeks to regulate programming disseminated by media streaming and digital platforms like Netflix, Facebook and YouTube.
However, the bill requires passing the scrutiny of Canadian Senate, where the incumbent government does not hold a majority. Hence, this may be a hard nut to crack for the Liberal government.
Critics caution that the proposed law could be a violation of individual choice to watch content, almost akin to ‘censorship’. Online post and content suggestions are mostly generated by algorithms that track the individual’s content history and preference. Under the proposed law, viewers may be forced to watch what the government wants and not what they want. However, some claim this may put an end to the big tech’s data collection moves that invade privacy.
The bill’s suggestions for controlled programming, currently in place for media outlets, will impact all online ventures with moderate online success. Once a law, the US-based entertainment and tech giants such as Netflix Inc. (NFLX:US, NASDAQ:NFLX), Youtube parent Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL:US, NASDAQ:GOOGL), and Facebook Inc. (FB:US, NASDAQ:FB) will come under its purview.
Following the bill’s passage by the Canadian government, the stocks of these big tech witnessed a marginal drop in their share prices.
While the bill claims to promote and finance the distribution of more indigenous content, it could a far-fetched approach as most digital and over-the-top (OTT) platforms use a personal search algorithm to provide content recommendations.
The proposed digital media bill aims to protect domestic cultural enterprises and targets new age media primarily dominated by global online content distributors.
Source: Pixabay.com
Digital content creators and publishers believe such amendment to the existing Broadcasting Act can control personal expression on digital media and other online content networks.
Let’s quickly glance at entertainment and live streaming service providers’ stocks on the back of the above development.
Stocks of Netflix Inc. (NFLX:US, NASDAQ:NFLX) rebounded after showing a slight downward movement at market opening hour on Tuesday. The OTT platform’s share price has gained seven per cent in one year, offset by the massive tech correction.
Netflix has added an unprecedented number of paid subscribers from Canada during repeated periods of lockdown. In 2019, the company had a total of 14.6 million Canadian subscribers on its platforms.
Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL:US, NASDAQ:GOOGL) stock was trading almost flat on Tuesday. The US-based tech company’s share price has risen more than 67 per cent in one year. It has surged as much as 39 per cent year-to-date (YTD) and beaten the NASDAQ Composite Index, which is up 20 per cent.
Meanwhile, stocks of Facebook Inc. (FB:US, NASDAQ:FB) were up nearly one per cent (12 PM EST) but noted a downward trend on the back of the Canadian digital media bill. The social media stock has gained 22 per cent YTD, up almost two times against the benchmark index.
Please note: The above constitutes a preliminary view and any interest in stocks should be evaluated further from an investment point of view. The reference data in this article has been partly sourced from EODHD/Others.
