Predicting the future of Canadian technology law is challenging at the best of times, but with upcoming national elections in the United States and possibly Canada, prognostications for the next twelve months are admittedly likely to be about as accurate as a coin flip. With that caveat in mind, my weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) returns by offering up eight issues to watch in 2008.
Columns
The Letters of The Law: The Year in Law and Technology from A to Z
While I was away last week, the Toronto Star published my annual A to Z review of the year in law and technology (Toronto Star version, Tyee version, homepage version). From Access Copyright to Zeke's Gallery, there was rarely a dull moment in 2007.
Copyright Delay Demonstrates Power of Facebook
My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) focuses on the role of Facebook in encouraging the government to delay the introduction of new copyright legislation. Facebook has garnered considerable attention regarding its user privacy policies, online marketing strategies, and the short-sighted decision of some companies and governments […]
Cellphone Spectrum Set-Aside Simply Step One
My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, Ottawa Citizen version, homepage version) focuses on the recent government spectrum allocation announcement. I argue that new wireless competition will be welcome news to consumers, however, it represents only part of the solution. The day before the Prentice press conference, U.S.-based Verizon Wireless shocked the industry by announcing that next year it will adopt an "open network" approach that will remove the restrictive walled garden that typifies the incumbent carriers. Instead, its customers will be permitted to use any device and any application that meets minimum technical standards. The Verizon decision comes just weeks after Google introduced a partnership with leading U.S. carriers such as Sprint and T-Mobile to create the Open Handset Alliance, which will similarly enable consumers to use devices that are fully open to new innovation and third-party programs.
This rush toward an open cellphone market stands in sharp contrast to years of restricted networks that left decisions about new devices and functionality strictly in the hands of a few dominant cellphone providers.
Private Email Not Always Hush Hush
My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, The Tyee version, Ottawa Citizen version, homepage version) begins by recounting that this past September, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency launched "Operation Raw Deal", an initiative that targeted people purchasing raw steroid materials through the Internet from China and repackaging the steroids as drugs for domestic sale. Tyler Strumbo, a 23-year old California resident, was among the 124 people arrested. The Strumbo case is of particular interest because of an important Canadian connection. The foundation of the DEA's case rested on hundreds of encrypted emails stored on the computer servers of Hush Communications, a company based in Vancouver. A British Columbia court ordered the company to decrypt the emails and to send them to the U.S. law enforcement officials. Faced with a valid court order, the company complied, shipping 12 CDs filled with unencrypted personal email to investigators in California.
Recent Posts
Ignoring the Warning Signs: Why Did the Canadian Government Dismiss the Trade Risks of a Digital Services Tax? 
Why Bill C-2 Faces a Likely Constitutional Challenge By Placing Solicitor-Client Privilege at Risk 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 237: A Conversation with Jason Woywada of BCFIPA on Political Party Privacy and Bill C-4 
Lawful Access on Steroids: Why Bill C-2’s Big Brother Tactics Combine Expansive Warrantless Disclosure with Unprecedented Secrecy 
Government Reverses on Privacy and the Charter: Department of Justice Analysis Concludes Political Party Privacy Bill Raises No Charter of Rights Effects
