FOTP 2013 Full Report

distribution company has a near-monopoly in the industry, which has kept prices high andcirculation limited largely to urban areas. The government is the largest advertiser, and it hasbeen accused of using this financial heft to influence content. Official funding to support privatemedia outlets is also disbursed selectively. Corruption is pervasive, due in large part to lowwages for journalists.Internet usage was limited to less than 6 percent of the population in 2012. There aregenerally no official restrictions on access to the internet, though there are reports that somecontent has been censored or blocked by officials. Structural barriers, brought about in part bythe government’s control of infrastructure and its strict regulations, present significant obstaclesto affordable and reliable access to the internet. Nevertheless, new media are experiencing rapidgrowth in the country, particularly among the increasing number of people who access theinternet from their mobile telephones. Users continue to endure slow connections and high feesat internet cafés. Cameroon is burdened with some of the highest bandwidth charges in West andCentral Africa, despite its access to a submarine cable, SAT3, that links the region to Europe.Connection to the West Africa Cable System (WACS) was completed in May 2012, which couldenhance the speed and quality of internet service in the future.CanadaStatus: FreeLegal Environment: 5Political Environment: 9Economic Environment: 6Total Score: 20Survey Edition 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012Total Score, Status 18,F 19,F 19,F 19,F 19,FCanada’s 1982 constitution guarantees freedom of expression and freedom of the press. Thegovernment may legally restrict free speech with the aim of ending discrimination, ensuringsocial harmony, or promoting gender equality, but the definition of hate speech, which ispunishable by law, remains vague. In November 2010, the Supreme Court began hearing thecase Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission v. William Whatcott, in which a local humanrights tribunal found Christian activist William Whatcott’s flyers and messages againsthomosexuality to be in violation of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code. Whatcott’s lawyerhas argued that defining “hate” is extremely difficult. The Supreme Court continued to reviewthe issue in 2012, and the case was ongoing at year’s end. In previous cases, the Supreme Courthas ruled that inciting hatred is a criminal offense, but the threshold for guilt is high: It must beproven that the person engaged in hate speech willfully and publicly.In 2009, the Supreme Court attempted to strike a balance between freedom of expressionand protection of reputation, allowing journalists to avoid liability for alleged defamation if theyare able to show that they acted responsibly in reporting a matter of public interest, even if thestatements were untrue. Despite this rule, in April 2011 a criminal libel complaint was filedagainst three Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) journalists over an allegedly defamatorydocumentary about fashion mogul Peter Nygard that aired in April 2010. If found guilty, the112