Michael Geist

Latest Posts

Canadian ISP Sued for Handing Over Data to Thai Government

A U.S. citizen has filed a lawsuit against a Canadian ISP that shared his personal information with the Thai government. Anthony Chai posted anonymous comments criticizing the royal family and now faces up to 15 years in prison for the comments.

September 6, 2011 — 3 comments — News

New Wikileaks Docs Show Ex-Minister Bernier Offered To Leak Copyright Bill to U.S.

Copyright, U.S. lobbying, and the stunning backroom Canadian response gets front page news treatment today as the Toronto Star runs my story on new revelations on copyright from the U.S. cables released by Wikileaks. The cables reveal that former Industry Minister Maxime Bernier raised the possibility of leaking the copyright bill to U.S. officials before it was to be tabled it in the House of Commons, former Industry Minister Tony Clement’s director of policy Zoe Addington encouraged the U.S. to pressure Canada by elevating it on a piracy watch list, Privy Council Office official Ailish Johnson disclosed the content of ministerial mandate letters, and former RCMP national coordinator for intellectual property crime Andris Zarins advised the U.S. that the government was working on a separate intellectual property enforcement bill.

The disclosures are particularly relevant since Parliament is set to resume in several weeks with the reintroduction of a copyright reform bill slated to be one of the government’s top priorities. The bill is expected to mirror Bill C-32, the previous copyright package that died with the election in the spring.

September 3, 2011 — 42 comments — Columns

Questions Abound As Digital TV Transition Deadline Arrives

Canada was scheduled to complete the digital television transition today, with stations switching their over-the-air broadcast signals from analog to digital. The transition represented a tremendous opportunity to advance the Canadian digital agenda leading to higher quality digital over-the-air broadcasts, freed-up spectrum that could be used to facilitate greater telecom competition, and the promise of billions in new revenues to fund a national digital strategy.

Yet despite the promise of the transition, my weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) argues the near-total absence of policy and political leadership has led to a digital disappointment. Some broadcasters will complete the transition on time, but the CBC has been granted a one-year delay. There has been minimal publicity about the change, which may leave some Canadians without television access by the end of the week. To make matters worse, the government has thus far failed to articulate a policy on how the freed-up spectrum will be auctioned and how the revenues will be allocated.

August 31, 2011 — 10 comments — Columns

Elections Canada Probing Online Elections, Again

Elections Canada has announced that it plans to trial online voting systems sometime in the next few years. I’ve written about some of the concerns with online voting in the past (here and here). Christopher Parsons posts an excellent look at why Elections Canada “cannot secure an online electoral process.”

August 31, 2011 — 20 comments — News