The hearings into Bill C-22 continued yesterday with appearances from the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Apple, Google, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, and a series of law enforcement associations. The hearings were a mess: the Privacy Commissioner’s reform recommendations sent in advance weren’t distributed to MPs, one Liberal MP admitted to the confusion about how the bill applies, another Liberal MP thought a good strategy would be to target Apple for not being sufficiently supportive of lawful access initiatives, and the final 30 minutes was spent fruitlessly trying to negotiate an extension to the hearings, which have clearly been inadequate to deal with the many issues raised the legislation.
I could go on, but the fundamental takeaway from the day can be summarized in this single 22-second clip from Apple, which makes clear that the bill poses real risks, and the government thus far seems uninterested in addressing them. The Bill C-22 hearing may have been a mess, but the message was clear.
Related posts:
Bill C-22’s Groundhog Day: Why the Government’s Dismissal of Signal, Apple and the U.S. Congress Concerns Runs Back the Disastrous Online News Act Playbook
The Government Tries to Make the Case for Bill C-22: Why Its Own Use Cases Reveal Disproportionate Overreach
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 263: The Lawful Access Act Roundtable With David Fraser and Robert Diab
More Surveillance Demands to Come?: Government Admits Bill C-22’s Lawful Access Provisions Could Be Expanded
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makes clear that the bill poses real risks, and the government thus far seems uninterested in addressing them.
The inquiries concerning Bill C-22 have uncovered significant deficiencies in the legislative process, such as inadequate preparation, uncertainty among legislators, and a lack of sufficient time to examine the bill’s implications in depth.
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