The Windsor Star has published a must-read editorial, concluding that "such questions represent the tip of a very slippery slope that could lead to police gaining access to an individual's Internet history and personal emails. Search warrants help ensure police do not launch fishing expeditions, but can still conduct thorough […]
Latest Posts
System Access Fee Class Action Seeks Billions in Compensation
The Toronto Star reports that a Saskatchewan court has certified a class action against the major telecommunications companies over the widespread use of "system access fees", a deceptive monthly charge added to cell phone bills that appears to be government mandated, but isn't (I touched on it in a column […]
Prentice Says Spectrum Auction On Track
New Industry Minister Jim Prentice has told the Canadian Press that the planned spectrum auction is on track for this fall. Prentice emphasized the need to consider both consumer and corporate interests, stating that "this will involve the balancing of the interests of consumers in ensuring they have good quality […]
CIPPIC Releases Major Study on DRM and Privacy
The Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic has issues a comprehensive study on privacy and DRM that reviews the use of DRM in 16 different digital products and services, finding that many pose threats to privacy.
Misleading RCMP Data Undermines Counterfeiting Claims
My weekly Law Bytes column (Toronto Star version, Ottawa Citizen version, homepage version) focuses on the growing attention paid to counterfeiting and the use of misleading data as part of the debate. The RCMP has been the single most prominent source for claims about the impact of counterfeiting in Canada since its 2005 Economic Crime Report pegged the counterfeiting cost at between $10 to 30 billion dollars annually. The $30 billion figure has assumed a life of its own with groups lobbying for tougher anti-counterfeiting measures regularly raising it as evidence of the dire need for Canadian action. U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Wilkins cited the figure in a March 2007 speech critical of Canadian law, while the Canadian Anti-Counterfeiting Network, Canada's leading anti-counterfeiting lobby, reported in April that the "RCMP estimates that the cost to the Canadian economy from counterfeiting and piracy is in the billions."
Yet despite the reliance on this figure – the Industry Committee referenced it in its final report – a closer examination reveals that the RCMP data is fatally flawed. Responding to an Access to Information Act request for the sources behind the $30 billion claim, Canada's national police force last week admitted that the figures were based on "open source documents found on the Internet." In other words, the RCMP did not conduct any independent research on the scope or impact of counterfeiting in Canada, but rather merely searched for news stories on the Internet and then stood silent while lobby groups trumpeted the figure before Parliament.
A careful examination of the documents relied upon by the RCMP reveal two sources in particular that appear responsible for the $30 billion claim.
Recent Posts
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 
“Big Brother Tactics”: Why Bill C-2’s New Warrantless Disclosure Demand Powers Extend Far Beyond Internet and Telecom Providers 
Government Seeks To Exempt Political Parties From Privacy Laws Even As CRTC Reports They Are Leading Source of Spam Complaints
