YouTube might be asked to manipulate algorithms under online streaming bill: CRTC chair

Ian Scott told a Senate committee examining the bill that although the CRTC would not want to manipulate algorithms itself, it might tell platforms.

The chairman of Canada’s broadcast regulator says it might ask platforms such as YouTube to “manipulate” their algorithms to make Canadian music easier to find, under powers in the proposed online streaming bill.

Ian Scott told a Senate committee examining the bill that although the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission would not want to manipulate algorithms itself, it might tell platforms, “I want you to manipulate it (the algorithm) to produce particular outcomes.”

His remarks have been seized on by critics of the online streaming bill, who say it confirms what they’ve been warning against.

Matthew Hatfield of OpenMedia said Scott’s remarks confirmed “what we have been saying all along.” OpenMedia is an organization dedicated to keeping the internet open. While it’s mainly funded by individuals, it gets some funding from Google, whose parent company also owns YouTube.

YouTube has warned that Canadian digital creators, including influencers and streamers, could lose foreign revenue if the government forces digital platforms to promote Canadian content.

This is because algorithms cross borders, and if a Canadian song presented to YouTube’s audience in Canada is not liked or chosen, it may suggest that it is not popular. That in turn could lead to it being downgraded worldwide.

The bill would update Canada’s broadcast laws to apply to platforms including Netflix, YouTube and Spotify, forcing them to take steps to make Canadian content _ including music, films and TV shows _ more “discoverable.”

Michael Geist, the University of Ottawa’s Canada Research Chair in internet law, said it has long been obvious that those rules would require algorithmic manipulation.