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CIPPIC Files Formal Complaint Over SWIFT

While the Privacy Commissioner of Canada has previously announced that she is investigating the issue, CIPPIC has joined forces with Privacy International to file a formal complaint against the big six banks regarding allegedly unlawful disclosures of personal banking information to the U.S. government by SWIFT.

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July 27, 2006 Comments are Disabled News

Online Hate Ruling Leads to Death Threats

The London Free Press reports that Judge Konrad Von Finckenstein and Richard Warman, the complainant in the Winnicki hate speech case, have been the targets of death threats from a U.S.-based site. The Canadian Human Rights Commission has stepped up security in response to the threats.

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July 27, 2006 1 comment News

Setting the IFPI Record Straight

The IFPI, which represents the major music labels internationally, is out with its annual piracy report.  Canada gets a fair amount of attention as we are one of ten priority countries.  In explaining the situation in Canada, the IFPI resorts to a series of mischaracterizations and omissions that piggyback CRIA claims and therefore demand a rebuttal. 

The report begins with:

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July 27, 2006 4 comments News

The Canadian Long Tail

My weekly Law Bytes column (Toronto Star version, homepage version), analyzes of the application of the Long Tail, now a popular book, to Canadian cultural industries including book publishing, music, and movies.  From a Canadian perspective, the importance of the Long Tail should resonate strongly with businesses and policy makers […]

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July 24, 2006 1 comment Columns

Emily of the State

Given that I’ve been writing recently about the impact of Internet-based video and the dangers of lawful access, this video from Cynically Tested is a must-see.

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July 19, 2006 3 comments News