I appeared on The Digital Tattoo Podcast, on October 15, 2017.
In the episode, we talked about open access to “knowledge” and the copyright law in Canada, in consideration of Aaron Swartz.
Archive for October, 2017
Border and Airport Privacy: My Appearance Before the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics
The Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics has been conducting a much-needed study on the privacy issues arising from the border and airports. The study has attracted considerable media attention, with the Privacy Commissioner of Canada warning about U.S. border phone searches and the CBSA promising to begin tracking cellphone searches. I appeared before the committee late last month alongside the Canadian Bar Association and privacy expert Kris Klein. The full transcript can be found here.
My opening remarks are posted below. I focused on four issues to consider in trying to address airport and border privacy concerns: Privacy Act reform, information sharing within government, the applicability of Charter rights at the border, and the role of the NAFTA negotiations.
Think There Should be a Netflix Tax?: Why There is Nothing Stopping Canadian Subscribers From Paying Today
The ongoing furor over Netflix taxes remains one of oddest and most poorly understood public policy debates in recent memory. Part of the problem is that a “Netflix tax” has long been used to mean different things to different people. When first raised by the Conservative government, the issue had nothing to do with sales tax. Rather, a “Netflix tax” was a reference to a mandated contribution to help fund Canadian content, a position supported by various cultural groups and some provincial governments. The no-Netflix tax position took hold, however, and all three major parties adopted the position that they would not mandate contributions from online service providers such as Netflix.
More recently, the debate has shifted to Netflix tax as a sales tax with the goal of creating a “level playing field.” I tried to debunk the level playing field claims in this post and on Canadaland, but the claims of the need for a level playing field and sales tax continues. Yesterday, the NDP stated:
Melanie Joly Can’t Seem to Quit the Idea of an Internet Tax
Canadian Heritage Minister Melanie Joly seemingly put the prospect of an Internet tax to bed when she launched her Creative Canada report last month. Throughout the year-and-a-half consultation, there were persistent rumours that an Internet tax was being considered as a mechanism to help fund Cancon. Yet when the Prime Minister rejected an Internet tax last June minutes after it was proposed by the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, the policy initiative promoted by some cultural lobby groups seemed dead. Joly’s comments at her policy launched suggested much the same:
Into the Breach: How Canada’s Security Breach Disclosure Regulations Fall Short
With security breaches regularly affecting millions (or even billions) of people, effective security breach disclosure rules are an essential part of a modern privacy law framework. It may surprise many to learn that Canada still does not have mandatory security breach disclosure rules that require companies to notify affected individuals in effect. Rules were passed in 2015, but the accompanying regulations were puzzlingly slow to emerge. The government finally released proposed regulations late in the summer with a consultation that closed earlier this week. My submission, which focused on implementation, content of notices, and proposed “indirect” notification, is posted below.
Recent Posts
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 200: Colin Bennett on the EU’s Surprising Adequacy Finding on Canadian Privacy Law 
Debating the Online Harms Act: Insights from Two Recent Panels on Bill C-63 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 199: Boris Bytensky on the Criminal Code Reforms in the Online Harms Act 
AI Spending is Not an AI Strategy: Why the Government’s Artificial Intelligence Plan Avoids the Hard Governance Questions 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 198: Richard Moon on the Return of the Section 13 Hate Speech Provision in the Online Harms Act
