Fuck You, Bell and Rogers
Now that Bell's convenient marketing campaign, thinly veiled as a mental health awareness movement, is over, we can focus again on what they truly are: a greedy vertically-integrated media conglomerate who wants the CRTC to subsidize their failing business model. This time, by joining forces with fellow oligopoly, Rogers, along with other groups, to end Net Neutrality in Canada. We cannot and will not let them destroy the Open Internet with their desperate ploy brought on by falling profits, primarily due to cord cutting and market saturation. I encourage anyone who cares about freedom and the Internet, to let the CRTC know of your concerns.
The following is the message I sent to the CRTC:
I am concerned about the proposal to create an industry-led Website-blocking scheme in an attempt to prevent piracy. Some may believe the laws are too relaxed in Canada regarding the Internet and piracy. It is of my informed opinion however that piracy doesn’t necessarily flourish because of a lack of laws. In many cases, the flourishing of the black market is due to too restrictive of laws (see the prohibition of alcohol and cannabis). In other cases, a poor business model that does not match the demands of the market is at fault. The desire of Bell, Rogers and other organizations to dismantle Net Neutrality and establish a Website blacklist is clearly a case of the latter. Falling subscriber numbers and revenues at cable companies is not due to piracy and the Open Internet. Piracy is a response to a product that is too rigid, too bloated and too expensive.
For decades, cable companies enjoyed natural monopolies all over Canada, not bound by the same pressures that competitive markets are. During this time, they enjoyed ever-increasing profits, and their shareholders have come to expect nothing less. When the Internet came around, they failed to see the writing on the wall and adapt. They ignored human nature and our culture of independence and freedom. That’s not to mean getting stuff for free. It means having the ability to get a quality product we want for a good price. It does not mean paying $15 for a package of channels to get the one we wanted, nor does it mean paying $20 for a single American channel that has exclusive rights with one particular Canadian media company. It means being able to shop around for the best deal we can get. It does not mean having to choose between two essentially identical companies, differing only in name. It means being able to access content, on demand wherever and whenever we so desire. It does not mean being restricted to a set schedule on one particular platform (i.e. TV), something that previously occurred for practical purposes and is no longer the case. These are the reasons why Canadians are moving away from cable television.
The CRTC does not exist to keep a failing business model on life support. The CRTC does not exist to reverse the falling profits of media oligopolies. The CRTC does exist to protect Canadians from these oligopolies and the awesome power these essential utilities have built up over the years of consolidation and vertical integration. It is the duty of the CRTC to stand up for Canadians. It is their duty to stand up for the Open Internet. It is their duty to stand up for Net Neutrality.