Michael Geist

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Privacy Commissioner of Canada on Lawful Access: Deep Concerns

The Privacy Commissioner of Canada Jennifer Stoddart has written a public letter to Public Safety Minister Vic Toews to express her deep concerns with forthcoming lawful access legislation. Stoddart’s letter notes:

Despite repeated calls, no systematic case has yet been made to justify the extent of the new investigative capabilities that would have been created by the bills. Canadian authorities have yet to provide the public with evidence to suggest that CSIS or Canadian police cannot perform their duties under the current regime. One-off cases and isolated incidents should not prove the rule, nor should exigent or emergency circumstances, for which there are already Criminal Code provisions.

October 28, 2011 — 7 comments — News

The Daily Digital Lock Dissenter, Day 18: Canadian Bar Association

The Canadian Bar Association, which represents 37,000 lawyers, law professors, and students from across the country, released an important submission on Bill C-32. The submission, which was approved as a public statement by both the National Intellectual Property and the Privacy and Access Law Sections of the CBA, did a nice job setting out the debate over Bill C-32 (I was once a member of the CBA’s Copyright Policy section but was not involved in the drafting of the Bill C-32 document).

The CBA submission is notable as a strong counter to the frequent attempts to characterize critics of digital lock rules or other elements of the bill as “anti-copyright.” Far from the claims that there is near unanimity in support of DMCA-style reforms, the CBA submission confirms that the legal experts who work on copyright issues on a daily basis are deeply divided on many issues. While some members supported the digital lock rules, there was a clear divide:

October 28, 2011 — 2 comments — News

Rogers Throttling Complaint Headed to CRTC Enforcement Branch

The ongoing complaint against Rogers by Canadian Gamers Organization against Rogers over its throttling practices is now headed to the CRTC enforcement branch. The precise nature of the enforcement remains unknown.

October 28, 2011 — 1 comment — News

Plurilateral Trade Agreements Lack Protections for Users, Intermediaries

Margot Kaminski posts an important op-ed at IP Watch on the lack of protection for users and intermediaries in agreements like ACTA and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP). The IP chapter in the TPP leaked earlier this week.

October 28, 2011 — Comments are Disabled — News

Conservative MP on C-11’s Digital Lock Rules: No Risk of Liability for Breaking Locks

Since the introduction of Bill C-11 last month, the digital lock rules have emerged as the most contentious aspect of the bill with both the NDP and Liberals indicating they cannot support the legislation without changes to those provisions. While most of the Conservative responses have stuck to the talking point that they believe the bill is balanced, Conservative MP Lee Richardson, a member of the Standing Committee on Industry, recently provided a constituent with another reason for why the public should not be concerned by the digital lock rules. According to Richardson:

If a digital lock is broken for personal use, it is not realistic that the creator would choose to file a law suit against the consumer, due to legal fees and time involved.

In other words, Canadians should not be concerned by digital lock rules because they can simply break the lock without fear of being sued. Richardson’s response raises several issues.

First, it is surprising to find Conservatives seeking support for their bill on the basis that Canadians need not worry about liability if they violate its provisions. Copyright reform is supposedly about updating Canada’s copyright rules and fostering greater respect for copyright law. Yet the message from Richardson suggests the opposite since Canadians will have less respect for copyright law as even their MPs tell them they need not fear violating the law given the minimal likelihood of a lawsuit.

October 27, 2011 — 69 comments — News