t be addressed.
When a technology is developed either by government or under governmental auspices, a strong case may be made for extensive governmental involvement in the private use of such technology. Traditionally, the exercise of such control has been stronger in both Australia and Canada.
A case in point in Canada is the debate over the control of satellite technology as that technology affects the application of cable television technology in the country (Murray, 1993, p. 50). The owners of cable television operations in Canada want an unrestricted right to determine what programming is transmitted over cable. The Canadian government, on the other hand, desires to both assure that all segments of the Canadian public are served by cable television (not just the most profitable segments), and that the viability of Canadian artists will be promoted. The owners of cable television operations counter that the combined capability of American broadcasters to beam their signals into Canada via satellite and the capability of a substantial proportion of the Canadian viewing public to receive these signals will result in financial ruin for Canadian cable television companies if the companies are required to adhere to Canadian content and diversity criteria. The CRTC (Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission) has adopted a somewhat middle of the road policy position that attempts to provide some protection for Canadian cable television company owners, minority segments in the Canadian viewing audience, and Canadian artists. While laudable in intent, this policy is characterized by many of the same flaws of the policy that has been applied to Canadian broadcast television, and will likely yield some similar outcomes, i.e., CTV is virtually an American network in the context of program content, and almost a third of the prime time programming on CBC is American.
With American television following the lead of every ot...