Online Streaming Act

The Broadcasting Act:

The Online Streaming Act modernizes the Broadcasting Act and helps ensure Canadian stories and music are widely available on streaming platforms to the benefit of future generations of artists and creators in Canada.

The Online Streaming Act received Royal Assent on April 27, 2023, and is the first major reform of the Broadcasting Act since 1991.

The law will give Canadians more opportunities to see themselves in what they watch and hear, under a new framework that better reflects our country today.

The Online Streaming Act is about more choice. What you watch and listen to will always be up to you.

Role of New Legislation

The legislation clarifies that online streaming services fall under the Broadcasting Act and ensures that the CRTC has the proper tools to put in place a modern and flexible regulatory framework for broadcasting. These tools include the ability to make rules, gather information, and assign penalties for non-compliance. These obligations will never extend to users—this is about the platforms that stream in Canada.

The Online Streaming Act:

Directions to the CRTC (Sustainable and Equitable Broadcasting Regulatory Framework)

Following Royal Assent, the Government of Canada has issued proposed policy directions to the CRTC, which will be responsible for the implementation of the Act.

The proposed directions give the CRTC instructions on how it will implement the Online Streaming Act, including directions designed to:

Department of Canadian Heritage Consultations on the Policy Directions to the CRTC

The Department of Canadian Heritage held consultations on the proposed directions and on the Regulatory Impact Assessment Statement that describes the directions and how they were developed. Consultations launched on June 10 and closed on July 25, 2023.

Next Steps

Learn More About the CRTC’s Consultation Processes

Learn more

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