The debate over big data, privacy and its implications for democracy came to Ottawa last week as the International Grand Committee brought together the world’s biggest technology companies, politicians from around the world, and leading thinkers. Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, the Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy, and Ethics joins the podcast this week to reflect on the three days of hearings, the prospect for global reforms, and what comes next for the committee.
Podcasts
The LawBytes Podcast, Episode 13: Digital Charter or Chart: A Conversation With Teresa Scassa on the Canada Digital Charter
Years of public consultation on Canadian digital policy hit an important milestone last week as Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains released the government’s Digital Charter. Canada’s Digital Charter touches on a wide range of issues, covering everything from universal Internet access to privacy law reform. To help sort through the digital charter and its implications, I’m joined on the podcast this week by Professor Teresa Scassa, a law professor at the University of Ottawa, where she holds the Canada Research Chair in Information Law and Policy.
The LawBytes Podcast, Episode 12: The Past, Present and Future of Free and Open Access to Law
The free and open access to law movement is devoted to providing free and open online access to legal information. This includes case law, legislation, treaties, law reform proposals and legal scholarship. This week’s Lawbytes podcast highlights perspectives on free and open access to law from Australia and Canada. During a recent trip to Australia, I spoke with Professor Graham Greenleaf, one of the pioneers of the movement, who co-founded AustLII, the Australasian Legal Information Institute. Following in the footsteps of the Legal Information Institute at Cornell University, AustLII helped reshape legal publishing in Australia and played a pivotal role in bringing other countries’ legal materials online. The episode continues with a conversation with Xavier Beauchamp-Tremblay, the current CEO of CanLII, the Canadian Legal Information Institute, about the Canadian past, present and future of free and open access to law.
The LawBytes Podcast, Episode 11: Reinterpreting Canadian Privacy Law – David Fraser On Cross-Border Data Transfers, the Right to De-Index, and the Facebook Investigation
Daniel Therrien, the Privacy Commissioner in Canada, is in the courts battling Google over a right to de-index. He’s calling for order making after Facebook declined to abide by his recommendations. And he’s embarked on a dramatic re-interpretation of the law premised on incorporating new consent requirements into cross-border data transfers. David Fraser, one of Canada’s leading privacy experts, joins the podcast to provide an update on the recent Canadian privacy law developments and their implications.
The LawBytes Podcast, Episode 10: Lowdown on Lawsuits – James Plotkin on Copyright Threats, Notices, and Lawsuits
Copyright threats and lawsuits against individuals have been around in Canada since 2004, when they were rejected by the federal court. Those threats receded for about a decade, but now they’re back. Copyright notices, litigation threats, settlement demands, and actual lawsuits have re-emerged at the very time that the music and movie industries are experiencing record music streaming revenues in Canada and massive popularity of online video services. James Plotkin, a lawyer with Caza Saikaley in Ottawa, joins the podcast this week to help sort through what the notices mean, the implications of the threats and lawsuits, and where Canadian law stands on the issue.
Recent Posts
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 211: Carlos Affonso Souza on the Unprecedented Brazilian Court Order Blocking Twitter/X and VPN Use to Access the Service 
New Academic Year Requires New Approach to Combat Campus Antisemitism 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 210: Meredith Lilly on the Trade Risks Behind Canada’s Digital Services Tax and Mandated Streaming Payments 
Abandoning Institutional Neutrality: Why the University of Windsor Encampment Agreements Constrain Academic Freedom and Freedom of Expression 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 209: Peter Menzies on Why the Canadian News Sector is Broken and How to Fix It
