Who Will Police Canadian Bloggers?

Now that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced their updated policy to fine bloggers who do not disclose being paid to blog I’ve often wondered whether the same type of policy will be added to the Canadian “internet wave,” but who would policy that? Which government body owns digital content that is on the internet and wants to take the responsibility of being the Internet’s watch dog in Canada?

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) who has their hands full right now fighting with Canadian television stations (link), regulates internet connections and doesn’t currently oversee content on the Internet but is apparently in the midst of deciding whether or not the CRTC will add Internet content to its jurisdiction. The other body who might have a say is the Competition Bureau who currently does have a say over what is said as far as Canadian advertising and has also said they are looking into whether they will add a policy to current jurisdiction.

Although blogging is certainly not new to Canada (link to event) we are entering a new era of accountability where disclosure has become a concern that is growing in attention from audiences and advertisers around the world. If history has shown us anything it is that the government will put its hands into the blogger issue here in Canada and there will be some backlash from bloggers.

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