Michael Geist

Latest Posts

Public Safety Links Telecom Foreign Investment with Lawful Access

Last week, I posted on the Public Safety Canada seeming attempt to circumvent the government’s spectrum consultation by submitting dual letters – a public letter expressing mild concern with foreign ownership and a secret letter warning of “considerable risks”. While that approach raises serious concerns that undermine public confidence in the consultation process, Public Safety’s detailed response (which is available on the Industry Canada site) anticipates the fight over Bill C-30 by specifically claiming that opening the Canadian telecom sector to foreign competition increases the necessity of lawful access legislation:

April 23, 2012 — 1 comment — News

Kenya High Court Rules Anti-Counterfeiting Statute Unconstitutional

Kenya’s High Court has ruled that the Kenya Anti-Counterfeit Act of 2008 violates that country’s constitution because it threatens access to life-saving generic medicines. The law includes a very expansive definition of counterfeiting, which raises serious concerns among access to medicines groups. The Constitutional Court of Kenya had previously barred […]

April 23, 2012 — 2 comments — News

Internet Surveillance Bill Threatens British Coalition

The National Post reports that plans to introduce new Internet surveillance legislation is threatening the current British ruling coalition. The bill has yet to be introduced, but has attracted criticism from MPs from all parties.

April 23, 2012 — 4 comments — News

Did Public Safety Circumvent the Government’s Own Spectrum Public Consultation?

Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that Public Safety Canada expressed concern about the public safety and national security risks associated with lessening or removing foreign ownership restrictions in the telecom sector in a confidential letter to Industry Canada obtained under the Access to Information Act. While the claims are suspect […]

April 20, 2012 — 15 comments — News

Australia High Court Sides With ISP in Landmark Copyright Case

The Australian High Court has issued a landmark ruling that firmly sides with Internet providers over their liability and responsibility for alleged infringement on their networks. The closely watched case involves a lawsuit by the movie industry which claimed that iiNet, an Australian ISP, was liable for authorizing infringement by its subscribers. The unanimous court rejected the movie industry claims, finding that the ISP had no technical or contractual power to act.

April 20, 2012 — 4 comments — News