Canada-led effort would require more locally-made digital media

If the Canadian government has its way, you could see a lot more locally-produced material from your favorite online media services -- at least, outside of the US. It's leading a campaign that would create a global consensus on domestically-made digital content, giving governments the justification for laws that require funding and promotion for homegrown media. Services like iTunes and Netflix would have to back movies and music created in your corner of the world, rather than supporting them when it's convenient.

The country's Heritage Minister, Mélanie Joly, kicked off the effort on December 12th with a UNESCO presentation. It's unclear how other UN member states took to the speech, but Joly has stressed that she doesn't want to antagonize companies or engage in harsh protectionism. This wouldn't be about keeping masses of American content out so much as getting American companies to "participate in our system," the minister says.

The question is, would such an effort help even if Canada gets what it wants? Digital law expert Michael Geist points out multiple problems with the strategy. Services like Netflix thrive precisely because they aren't bound by as much content regulation as conventional media outlets. While catalogs still vary from country to country, you can generally assume that you'll see a common online library wherever you live. The UN is also a "poor fit" for content regulation, Geist adds.

And most importantly, there's a dirty secret: in the case of Netflix, a lot of that content already is produced in Canada. Orphan Black (shown above) is made in the country, as are ARQ, the upcoming Anne of Green Gables series and numerous other titles. Other shows use at least some Canadian resources, such as A Series of Unfortunate Events and Inspector Gadget. It's possible that Canada could benefit the least from its own campaign, and that its initiative would have only a limited effect in other regions.

[Thanks, Kristy]