STOP DIGITAL PIRACY, PROTECT JOBS

The push is on to end the theft of digital content by illegal piracy websites.

FairPlay Canada, a coalition that includes Canadian artists, content creators and broadcasters, is asking the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to establish an independent agency to assist it in identifying websites blatantly engaged in content theft.

Dr. Shan Chandrasekar, president and CEO of Asian Television Network International Limited is filing the coalition’s application.

According to the FairPlay Canada, the jobs of hundreds of thousands of Canadians who work in the creative sector are at risk as a result of increasing online piracy. Those jobs include songwriters, set builders and local news reporters.

The coaliton also wants the CRTC to require Canadian internet service providers to take measures to prevent such sites from reaching Canadians.