JumpTV, a Canadian internet company, is putting copyright laws to
the test with its plans to begin webcasting TV programmes for
Canadians while attempting to block foreign access. It could be a
test case for using technology to erect national borders on the
internet.
The company hopes to exploit a Canadian broadcasting law that
allows retransmission of local TV signals without permission,
provided the broadcaster pays any applicable royalty or tariff.
JumpTV has sought help from the Copyright Board of Canada to put in
place a suitable payment system and is seeking its ruling on the
legality of its plan to stream TV on-line. Traditional TV
broadcasters argue that the retransmission rules do not apply to
the internet.
Filtering software will identify users’ internet addresses to
check that they are Canadians – which JumpTV believes will keep its
service legal.
The issues of erecting national borders on the internet were
raised in a case last year against Yahoo! The portal was ordered by
a French court to block access by French nationals to certain
internet auctions for Nazi memorabilia that breached French laws
against the incitement of hatred. However, Yahoo! avoided the issue
by banning such auctions from its service, so the necessary
filtering technology was never put to the test.
Another Canadian company, iCraveTV had similar plans to JumpTV,
but launched its service without permission and quickly went out of
business under the financial burden of several copyright lawsuits
raised against it.
If JumpTV succeeds with its plans, broadcasters warn that TV
will be “Napster-ised” on the internet, with broadcasters losing
effective control of their copyrighted material. Canada’s National
Association of Broadcasters wrote a warning letter to this effect
to the Canadian regulators, calling for JumpTV to be stopped before
it gets off the ground, saying: “Internet transmissions of TV
stations could cripple, if not destroy, the US and Canadian
successful system of free, local, over-the-air television.” The
argument runs that advertisers will pay much less for slots in
programmes on a local station if these programmes are also
available day and night on the internet without the same
advertising.
There are two issues with JumpTV’s plans. First, the regulatory
issue over retransmission of TV signals. Second, and potentially
more significant, the use of filtering technology to raise national
borders on the internet, which runs contrary to the popular image
of the internet breaking down national borders.
In the Yahoo! case, court-appointed experts suggested that
filters based on users’ internet protocol (IP) addresss, their use
of certain keywords, and their self-identification of geographic
location would likely be 90% effective. The French court apparently
considered this level, with 10% “leakage,” sufficient. If other
countries follow suit, filter solutions may become popular for
blocking users from specific countries or outside targeted
markets.
