CRTC Says It’s Collecting Podcasters’ Details to Use Only ‘If Needed,’ Not to Regulate

The details collected include the legal name, address, and contact information for the podcasters, says a CRTC executive.

Vicky Eatrides, chair and CEO of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, waits to appear before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Oct. 5, 2023. Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press

Canada’s broadcasting regulator says it will not be casting its net over podcast services, but podcasts still must register in case their information becomes “needed.”

Officials from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) who testified at the House of Commons heritage committee on Nov. 23 were asked to clarify the need for podcast services making more than $10 million in revenue to register if they’re not to be regulated.