Appeared in the Toronto Star on April 5, 2010 as State Farm Challenges Canada's Privacy Law in Court Later this month, the Federal Court of Canada will hear a case in Halifax that threatens Canada's privacy law framework. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. is contesting the constitutional validity of […]
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Technology Giants Defend Canadian Copyright Law
Each April, the United States issues the Special 301 Report, which examines the intellectual property laws of its main trading partners. For the past 15 years, Canada has been included on the watch list of countries the U.S. believes need reform. As the U.S. prepares its 2010 edition, for the first time it invited the public to provide their comments on the process and the link between intellectual property and trade policy. My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes that among the hundreds of submissions, one from the Computer and Communications Industry Association stands out as critically important to Canada.
Technology Giants Defend Canadian Copyright Law
Appeared in the Toronto Star on February 22, 2010 as Technology Giants Defend Canada's Copyright Law Each April, the United States issues the Special 301 Report, which examines the intellectual property laws of its main trading partners. For the past 15 years, Canada has been included on the watch list […]
Ten Years of Internet Law News
While readers of this blog may be more familiar with my blog postings or regular technology law columns, I also compile a daily Internet law news bulletin that is distributed daily by the Bureau of National Affairs in Washington, DC. Today marks the 10th anniversary of Internet Law News. My thanks to all the readers and particularly to Daniel Strigberger for his ongoing assistance in pulling ILN together each day. To mark the occasion, I've posted the first ILN from November 9, 1999, complete with stories on Nortel, a new ICANN board, and a forthcoming anti-cybersquatting law. To subscribe to ILN (it's free), visit BNA.
Do-Not-Call List Undermined By Loopholes in the Law
This month marks the one-year anniversary of the launch of Canada's do-not-call list. Over the past 12 months, millions of Canadians have registered their numbers on the list and filed hundreds of thousands of complaints with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, which is tasked with enforcing the law. While the CRTC has found itself subject to considerable criticism for investigating only a small percentage of complaints and levying just a handful of fines for do-not-call violations, my weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes that a review of tens of thousands of complaints obtained under the Access to Information Act reveals a potentially bigger problem.
Many of Canada's best-known companies have been the target of frequent complaints, yet are not subject to investigation due to the large number of exceptions found in the law. This has led to genuine dismay, with many people using a comment section in the complaint form to register their disappointment with the do-not-call list.
Working together with University of Ottawa students Sean Murtha and Frances Munn, I recently reviewed more than 60,000 complaints released by the CRTC. The complaints were lodged in late 2008 and early 2009 using the do-not-call list's Internet-based complaints mechanism. In each case, the complaint included all relevant information with the exception of the complainant's name and telephone number, which were excluded for privacy reasons. There were hundreds of complaints about automated calls promising cruise vacations or lawncare services. But the undisputed leader among reputable companies was Bell Canada, which alone was the subject of nearly one thousand complaints. In fact, the wireless sector had the distinction of taking the top three spots with Rogers and Telus ranking second and third respectively. There were also hundreds of complaints against Canada's top financial institutions and retailers including RBC, CIBC, Scotiabank, TD Canada Trust, and Sears.
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The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 266: Justin Safayeni on the Ontario Government’s Overnight Evisceration of Access to Information
