My weekly Law Bytes column (Toronto Star version; freely available hyperlinked version) focuses on comments last week from Prime Minister Paul Martin that the "question of civil rights is first and foremost in our minds" as the government prepares to introduce the lawful access initiative. I note that while Canadians […]
Articles by: Michael Geist
Privacy Protection Requires Action Not Rhetoric
Appeared in the Toronto Star on October 17, 2005 as Say No To Giving Police Carte Blanche to E-Snoop Appeared in the Ottawa Citizen on October 20, 2005 as Deeds Not Words In the face of growing public concern about Ottawa’ s plans to grant law enforcement authorities vast new […]
PM’s Science Advisor Calls for Culture of Sharing
Arthur Carty, the national science advisor to Prime Minister Paul Martin, has published a remarkable op-ed titled A Global Information System Needs a Culture of Sharing, in the latest issue of University Affairs. This should be required reading and, if it reflects the thinking at the Prime Minister’s Office, offers […]
Not Playing At A Tiny Screen Near You
This week's announcement from Apple and ABC/Disney about the availability of ABC shows such as Desperate Housewives and Lost as downloads for US$1.99 for the new video-playing iPod has rightly attracted significant attention. This is the first step toward another new market – television shows for virtually immediate download. I […]
Collectives Win Big at the Copyright Board of Canada
The Copyright Board of Canada this morning issued its decision on royalties for music played on commercial radio stations. The decision is a huge win for the copyright collectives (SOCAN and NRCC) and a corresponding loss for the Canadian Association of Broadcasters. The Board has ruled that the prior tariffs […]