Despite a Mexican Senate recommendation not to do so, Mexico unexpectedly signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement yesterday. There is some speculation that signing the agreement was a U.S. condition for joining the Trans Pacific Partnership talks. The Mexican Senate must still ratify the agreement for it to take effect.
Articles by: Michael Geist
The Magnotta Case and Online Surveillance
The CBC reports that it obtained documents under the Access to Information Act in which the government tries to justify statements from Public Safety Minister Vic Toews that Bill C-30, the online surveillance bill, would have assisted with the Luka Magnotta investigation. I appeared on CBC’s Power and Politics to challenge the claims. This interview is available on YouTube, but for better video quality, watch it on CBC’s website.
EC Says ACTA ISP Provisions Dropped from CETA, Yet Most of ACTA Likely Remains Intact
While the removal of the Internet provider provisions is a good step, the European Parliament’s overwhelming rejection of ACTA was the result of far more than just the Internet provider provisions. Indeed, there has been concern about digital locks, damages, criminal provisions, and border measures. All of those provisions also appeared in the February 2012 CETA draft and Clancy’s response suggest that most, if not all, remain there.
The decision to respond to the CETA concerns is undoubtedly the result of the enormous amount of attention the connection between ACTA and CETA have received in Europe over the past 48 hours. This includes:
The Inclusion of ACTA Within CETA: Why The Concern Is Warranted
Some have noted that since the leaked CETA IP chapter dates from February 2012, the concern is premature since the current EC position may change in light of the recent European Parliament vote to reject ACTA. According to this view, “it’s more than likely that the European Parliament will kill CETA just as (and because of) ACTA was killed last week.”
While a change to the IP chapter would be welcome (I argued it should be removed from CETA altogether), I think the concern is warranted for several reasons.
Access Copyright: 40 Percent Of Non-Quebec University Students Outside Model Licence
Access Copyright’s Executive Director Maureen Cavan tells University Affairs magazine that 40 percent of university students outside of Quebec are currently at institutions that have not signed the Access Copyright model licence. Carleton University, which opted-out of the licence last year, reports that “roughly 80 percent of requests to use […]
Recent Posts
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 249: The Debate Over Canada’s AI Strategy – My Consultation Submission and Appearance at the Canadian Heritage Committee 
How the Liberal and Conservative Parties Have Quietly Colluded to Undermine the Privacy Rights of Canadians 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 248: Mark Surman on Why Canada’s AI Strategy Should Prioritize Public AI Models 
We Need More Canada in the Training Data: My Appearance Before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage on AI and the Creative Sector 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 247: My Senate Appearance on the Bill That Could Lead to Canada-Wide Blocking of X, Reddit and ChatGPT
