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Balanced Copyright for Canada Details Begin to Emerge

By Michael Geist

TVO's Search Engine examines the Balanced Copyright for Canada site in this week's podcast.  The podcast discusses some of Jesse Brown's concerns with the site. Meanwhile, Simon Doyle posts the names of some of the members of the site including many record company executives and their advisors.  Doyle's post includes an update in which the site identifies two of its advisory members - Stephen Stohn (former law partner of CRIA's Graham Henderson, co-author of an op-ed on copyright reform last year with CRIA lawyer Barry Sookman) and Loreena McKennitt (well known musician who is a former client of Henderson's and appeared alongside him at a Canadian Heritage committee hearing in April). 

I should note that I don't think there is anything wrong with Stohn or McKennitt serving on their board - they're both passionate about copyright issues - nor with the existence of a site advocating positions such as those on the Balanced Copyright site.  I encourage everyone to speak out on Bill C-32, regardless of their position. My concerns with the site are that it still has not disclosed who is behind it (although I remain convinced it is CRIA and its members), that it engages in astroturfing activities on media articles and blog posts, that it has actively removed users it suspects of opposing its views without warning, and that its letter writing campaign blocks the ability for users to customize their comments to reflect their own views (which is particularly striking given the earlier criticisms from some its members about the CCER form letter website that gave users full editorial control). If I was a member of the advisory board, I'd advise the site to make some changes.

Full post as published by Michael Geist on June 22, 2010 (boomark / email).