andykm

@andykm@mstdn.ca

Telecom and Internet lawyer in Ottawa, open access/content/data/knowledge advocate. I work at TekSavvy, but views here are my own. I’m @kaplanmyrth on Twitter and most other places.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

casseagull, to random
@casseagull@mstdn.social avatar

Anyone in Ottawa having Rogers or Teksavvy cable issues this morning? We are unable to load some websites (server not found).

All devices on our wifi are facing this, both personal and work devices, on and off VPN for the latter. Have rebooted the modem, changed DNS servers, flushed the cache, optimized the connection, connected to direct ethernet connection, nothing is working. The same sites work on cellular.

Any ideas? And yes, I am actually asking for advice, so now is your chance.

andykm,

@casseagull It's actually unusual for TekSavvy to have any wait time -- we aim for "ring ring hello".

I'm hearing rumblings that there's a known issue. Hopefully you get through soon so they can at least document it.

andykm, to random

There's a new litigation against ~3000 Internet users in Canada. If you downloaded Expendables 4 in the past 6 months, this might affect you.
πŸ§΅πŸ‘‡πŸΌ

Once in a while, a movie production company sues a list of Canadian Internet users who they claim downloaded one of their movies. The law firm is always Aird & Berlis, the lead lawyer is always Kenneth Clark, and the movies are almost always bad, violent/war/assassin popcorn movies (in this case, indistinguishable from satire).
1/6

Tropic Thunder movie poster image

andykm,

Basically, if you download a movie using bittorrent, the movie production company may see your IP address because they hire enforcement firms to monitor them. From your IP address, they know your ISP, but they don't know who you are (yet). They can send a copyright infringement notice as a warning to your ISP to pass along to you. If they do, your ISP has to retain info to identify you for six months.

And then...
2/6

andykm,

Then, once in a while, they sue the list of "Does", the users behind those IP addresses, and they ask a court to order the ISPs to identify the people.

You can read the claim itself yourself on the Federal Court docket, by searching for "EX4" as a party on this search page: https://www.fct-cf.gc.ca/en/court-files-and-decisions/court-files. It's against 2,964 IP addresses named from the past six months.
3/6

andykm,

I'm aware of six of these cases in the past five years or so, including this new one. With the exception of The Outpost (2020), their Tomatometer scores are dismal, and this one is the worst:

  • Angel has Fallen: 38%
  • Rambo Last Blood: 26%
  • The Outpost: 91%
  • Ava: 20%
  • Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard: 26%
  • Expendables 4: 14%

I try to watch them all.
4/6

andykm,

Speaking just for TekSavvy, if we get an order to disclose customer information, we also notify customers. So if you downloaded Ava (ugh, sorry for you) or one of the others in that list, and you're worried, you would have heard from TekSavvy or the lawyers if your name was involved. I don't know what other ISPs do.

But also, don't illegally download movies. Just don't. But if you do, based on history, you might be safer avoiding the violent/war/assassin types of movies. But still, don't.
5/6

andykm,

If you're interested, TekSavvy has some detailed information about how we handle copyright infringement notices. We have a long history of fighting these orders as well as "site blocking" orders, going back to our dispute with Voltage in 2012 (same law firm! same lawyer! same type of movie!) https://www.teksavvy.com/policies/copyright-information/
6/6

andykm,

@jfmezei Yes, IP address logs are not perfect, so that can happen.

johnefrancis, (edited ) to random
@johnefrancis@mastodon.social avatar

Black...fly...
the little black fly....
everywhere the black fly, everywhere I go...
I'll die with the blackfly pickin' my boooooones....
In north Ontar-i-ar-i-o...
In north Ontar-i-o...

Sorry...that got in my head this morning, maybe someone else can figure out how to get it out.

https://www.nfb.ca/film/blackfly/

andykm,

@johnefrancis Sometimes the antidote to an earworm is as bad as the earworm... https://www.nfb.ca/film/the-cat-came-back/

andykm, to random

TIL that Siri pronounces "asshats" like "as shats". This is not a subtweet.

andykm, to random

The Hamilton Jewish Film Festival was supposed to be held at a local independent cinema, the Playhouse, but the cinema has cancelled it due to "security and safety related emails, phone calls, and social media messages".

This is Canada in 2024. A Jewish event (not an Israeli event) being shut down because of pressure from bigots. I'm not shocked anymore, but I am furious, and sad.

News story:
https://www.chch.com/playhouse-cinema-cancels-jewish-film-festival-over-security-concerns/

Cinema statement: https://playhousecinema.ca/statement-regarding-the-postponement-of-the-hamilton-jewish-film-festival

Festival statement in images.

In withdrawing ifs support of a Jewish film festival based on outrageous claims by a few individuals that any film produced in Israel is a form of "Zionist propaganda," the Playhouse Cinema is prioritizing the will of antisemites over an apolitical cultural festival that stands for artistic excellence and integrity. The Hamilton Jewish Federation rejects This attempt to sever Jewish from Israeli identity at a Time when 50 per cent of the world's Jewish population resides in Israel and to categorize Jews into "acceptable" and "unacceptable." Federation is consulting with our national Legal Task Force about recommended next steps in dealing with this situation. In the meantime, our festival will go on. The 2024 Hamilton Jewish Film Festival will take place later this spring in Federation's newly renovated facility. Please watch for further details.

jfmezei, to random

@andykm question: has the indicated there would be a final reply to the hearing? I have only see replies to the request for information/undertakings.
Todays INDU hearings has given incumbents an opportunity to score points against wholesale which of course goes back to via minister who actually writes the decisions.

andykm,

@jfmezei Yes, they said there would still be final replies. They said it at the end of the hearing, but they also put it in writing when they rejected Coextro's late request to appear at the hearing. https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2024/lt240214a.htm

andykm,

@jfmezei You're faster than I could edit my post πŸ™‚

andykm, to random

If you work for a business in Canada that might get requests from the police for customer information (like IP addresses, but other things too), you need a policy for how to deal with them. "Come back with a warrant or court order" is a good start, but beyond that, have a look at TekSavvy's "Law Enforcement Guide". It's a set of policies that we use internally, published so that police know how to get our help, and customers know how we treat their information.

https://www.teksavvy.com/policies/legal-stuff/law-enforcement-guide/

andykm, to privacy

The Supreme Court of Canada today released an important decision making it clear that people have a privacy interest in their IP addresses, and the police require a court order to get that address from a provider.
https://www.scc-csc.ca/case-dossier/cb/2024/40269-eng.aspx

At TekSavvy, we already require a court order to connect an IP address with a person. This case was about getting the IP address in the first place, which apparently some companies (Moneris in this case) gave to police without a court order.

andykm, to random

The much-anticipated Online Harms Bill is indeed Bill C-63 as expected -- the page is now live, but the text is still not available there: https://www.parl.ca/LegisInfo/en/bill/44-1/c-63

andykm,

@jfmezei First reading is complete. We're just waiting for it to be posted on the site, but some people seem to have copies.

andykm, to random

Fair Dealing, Fair Duty, the anniversary of the Supreme Court of Canada's landmark CCH decision, and Renoir's Dance paintings: https://fairduty.wordpress.com/2024/02/26/twenty-years-later/

andykm, to ontario

Excellent statement from Federation of Ontario Law Associations about what it means for Ford to politicize judicial appointments.

https://www.fola.ca/fola-urges-provincial-government-to-de-politicize-and-return-independence-to-judicial-appointments-advisory-committee/

andykm, to random

The Federal Court just ruled against the government's use of the Emergencies Act during the convoy occupation in 2022. Whatever you think of the convoy and the Emergencies Act and the declaration of a public order emergency, the court's analysis is an important read: https://theccf.ca/wp-content/uploads/EA-challenge-fed-court-reasons-FINAL.pdf

Reports say the government has already said they are appealing this.

andykm, to random

The news about the Ford government moving ServiceOntario locations to kiosks at Staples and Walmart is indistinguishable from parody. If it weren't so on the nose it would be literally unbelievable. The whole plan falls squarely into the category of "too ridiculous to take seriously and too serious to be ridiculous".

andykm,

@mpjgregoire Not great. I don't appreciate needing to walk through the perfume section of a Shoppers to pick up packages just because that's where they bring them, especially when there's a standalone Canada Post store closer to me.

andykm, to random

Shopping for mobile plans is really the worst. Just the worst.

andykm, to Astronomy

If you're in or near , check out this open source, DIY, citizen-scientist initiative to build low-cost but powerful telescopes for amateurs (adults and kids alike!):

https://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/guelph-telescope-initiative-aims-to-get-amateurs-involved-in-astronomy-1.6715148

andykm,

Why doesn't the Mastodon astronomy community use ? It's right there...

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • β€’
  • megavids
  • mdbf
  • ngwrru68w68
  • InstantRegret
  • magazineikmin
  • thenastyranch
  • rosin
  • khanakhh
  • tacticalgear
  • Youngstown
  • slotface
  • Durango
  • kavyap
  • DreamBathrooms
  • JUstTest
  • ethstaker
  • GTA5RPClips
  • modclub
  • tester
  • anitta
  • osvaldo12
  • cisconetworking
  • everett
  • cubers
  • Leos
  • provamag3
  • normalnudes
  • lostlight
  • All magazines
    •