With the government now said to be “retreating” from its initial position on the Internet surveillance bill – Public Safety Minister Vic Toews says the government will entertain amendments – the starting point should be to stop misleading on the privacy concerns associated with subscriber data.  Concerns about warrantless access to subscriber information such as email and IP addresses have been at the forefront of the Bill C-30 criticism, but the government persists in claiming this information is “the modern day equivalent of the phone book.” According to the Public Safety talking points on the bill:

Myth: Basic subscriber information is way beyond “phone book information”.

Fact: The basic subscriber information described in the proposed legislation is the modern day equivalent of information that is accessed from the phone book. These identifiers are often searchable online and shared between individuals in online communications.

The government persists in justifying its mandatory disclosure of subscriber information without a warrant on the basis that the information is as openly available the phone book, yet this is plainly untrue.

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