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Internet service providers are not broadcasting undertakings when they merely provide access to requested content.
The appeal concerned whether retail Internet service providers, when providing end-users with Internet access to requested programming, carry on broadcasting undertakings under the Broadcasting Act.
The court held that the statutory terms, read in light of the Act’s language and policy objectives, do not capture entities that merely provide a transmission mode without selecting, originating, or packaging content.
Prior authorities on transmission and conduit functions were treated as consistent with this interpretation, while precedent involving content control by cable licensees was distinguished.
The appeal was dismissed, confirming that access-providing Internet service providers are not broadcasting undertakings in this context.
