FairPlay Canada Urges CRTC to Address Illegal Piracy Websites

The new coalition FairPlay Canada is asking the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to address the theft of digital content by illegal piracy websites.

FairPlay Canada is a coalition of more than 25 organizations representing all areas of Canada’s film, TV, radio, sports entertainment and music industries: artists, content creators, unions, guilds, producers, performers, broadcasters, distributors and exhibitors. The group wants the CRTC to modernize the tools used to protect Canadian artists from online piracy. The coalition is proposing that the CRTC establish an independent agency, the Independent Piracy Review Agency (IPRA), to assist it in identifying websites blatantly engaged in content theft.

The CRTC would require Canadian internet service providers to take measures to prevent such sites from reaching Canadians. The IPRA and CRTC process would be subject to oversight by the Federal Court of Appeal.