GME3: AGCO Seeks Ad-vice, Social Media Giants Face Consequences, and Stream-lining Canadian Content

This week in the GME3, the AGCO has begun the process of introducing new advertising standards related to celebrity and athlete endorsements, an update on the slew of social media lawsuits in the US, and the Federal government has released the final policy directive for the Online Streaming Act. Read the full stories below!

Gambling

AGCO Seeks Ad-vice

Last week the AGCO began to hold meetings regarding the proposed changes to advertising standards around gambling content. The Commission is consulting with gaming operators, the Canadian Gaming Association, and other stakeholders.

The primary goal of the new standards is to stop gambling ads from featuring athletes and other celebrities as a means of protecting young Canadians. In the initial announcement at the end of August, the Registrar and CEO of the AGCO, Tom Mungham, had this to say:

“Children and youth are heavily influenced by the athletes and celebrities they look up to. We’re therefore increasing measures to protect Ontario’s youth by disallowing the use of these influential figures to promote online betting in Ontario.”

Major operators like PointsBet, DraftKings, and FanDuel met with the AGCO earlier this week to seek clarity on the new standards and ensure they understood how to comply with these revised guidelines.

The AGCO posed these questions to operators:

• What sections of the new standard are most in need of guidance to create greater clarity and certainty for your stakeholders?

• We would welcome your thoughts regarding potential differences of opinion amongst stakeholders on what most needs guidance and the priority of those needs.

• Is there a particular marketing or advertising practice, activity or idea that you are unclear about because of the new standard?

The AGCO also intends to meet with broadcasters like Bell and the CBC in the near future to discuss the standards.

It’s excellent that the AGCO has taken this proactive approach to collaboration with gaming operators when introducing these new advertising rules. So far it seems that everyone agrees that advertising that targets minors has no place in the Canadian gaming landscape. The AGCO is helping operators understand how these new standards could affect their other ad campaigns, such as influencer marketing via social media. These changes will impact all gaming operators in Ontario, so be sure to follow GME Law on LinkedIn to stay up to date!

Media

Social Media Giants Face Consequences?

Earlier this week U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers rejected the efforts of major social media companies to dismiss the nationwide litigation they are facing regarding issues surrounding social media addiction and mental health issues in youth. Companies involved in the suits include Google, Meta, ByteDance (which operates TikTok) and Snap. The decision includes hundreds of individual lawsuits filed on behalf of children who have suffered negative effects from social media use, suits from more than 140 school districts, and 42 US states.

The companies’ replies cover a range of possible responses. A Google spokesperson dubbed the allegations “simply not true,” and said that protecting children “has always been core to [their] work.” A representative from TikTok cited the app’s “robust safety policies and parental controls.” Snap and Meta have refused to comment on the situation so far.

The companies attempted to head off the suits by citing the First Amendment as well as Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Section 230, colloquially known as “the 26 words that made the internet”, provides internet platforms with immunity from liability for anything users publish on their websites.

However, Judge Rogers rebutted that the plaintiffs’ claims go beyond what is posted on social media, and pointed to the errors that these companies have made in administering their websites. These include providing defective parental controls, not helping users limit screen time, verifying user age upon account creation, and creating barriers to deactivating accounts.

Based on this verdict it seems safe to conclude that these cases won’t be disappearing anytime soon. The sheer volume of litigation that has been brought against these social media platforms can’t be ignored and its possible that some significant changes will come from these cases.

Entertainment

Stream-lining Canadian Content

The federal government has released its final policy direction for the Online Streaming Act, which will require large streaming companies to contribute to Canadian content. Similar laws already exist in older forms of media, like TV and radio, but in the modern day, more and more Canadians are accessing content online through streaming services like Netflix, Amazon, YouTube, and many others.

It’s important to note the Act will not apply to third-party content creators that use these platforms, only the platforms themselves. The Act aims only to target professional, licensed content that could be found in traditional broadcasting. The legislation also serves to boost the reach of Indigenous content and original French-language programming.

The next step is for the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to actually create these regulations. This will include a lengthy period of public consultations on defining, or redefining, what Canadian content is in the first place. It will likely be years before these laws are fully implemented.