Search Results for "Law Bytes" : 862

Canada to Launch Cybersecurity Task Force?

My weekly Law Bytes column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) reports that the the Conservative government is preparing to launch a Cyber-Security Task Force. Although the Ministry of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness does not list any information about the task force on its site, GEDS, the government’s electronic directory service, was recently updated to include a Cybersecurity Task Force Secretariat. The Secretariat apparently at least includes an Assistant Deputy Minister and a senior policy analyst.

While the move to address shortcomings in Canada’s cyber-security framework is welcome, the creation of this task force raises three important issues.

May 29, 2006 — 1 comment — Columns

Sound Numbers

A special edition of my Law Bytes column (Ottawa Citizen version, homepage version) reports on a recent Canadian Heritage commissioned study on the economic impact of the copyright industries. The Connectus Consulting report, entitled The Economic Impact of Canadian Copyright Industries – Sectoral Analysis, has yet to be publicly released. However, I recently obtained a copy of the final report dated March 31, 2006, under an Access to Information Act request.

The report, which spans 1997 to 2004, finds that the copyright industries comprise 4.5 percent of the Canadian economy and contribute 5.5 percent of total Canadian employment. While that is expected to increase in the coming years (the copyright industries are growing at a faster rate than the overall economy), it pales in comparison to sectors such as finance, manufacturing, agriculture, education, and health care.

More interesting is a case study on the sound recording industry that contradicts both the industry claims and the expectations of the report's authors.

May 25, 2006 — 10 comments — Columns

Dot-XXX Decision Exposes Cracks in Net Governance System

My weekly Law Bytes column (Toronto Star version, BBC version, homepage version) looks at the recent ICANN decision to reject the creation of a new dot-xxx domain name extension. The year-long debate over whether to approve the adult-oriented domain may have long-term implications for Internet governance since it sparked enormous controversy and provided ample evidence of U.S. government intervention into ICANN matters.

With millions of dollars at stake, the Internet community has relied on ICANN to establish a transparent system for creating new domain name extensions. The resulting process has left many observers unhappy. They argue that it is too expensive (application costs alone are now estimated at US$250,000), too cumbersome (creation of the domain name extension may require months of negotiation after preliminary approval is granted), and too subjective (rather than establishing objective criteria, the decisions are fraught with subjective policy choices).

The prospect of a dot-xxx domain name extension created an immediate firestorm in the United States.

May 22, 2006 — 16 comments — Columns

Spam Not Gone, But Increasingly Forgotten

My weekly Law Bytes column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) takes stock of the battle against spam one year after Canada’s National Task Force on Spam submitted its report. The column notes that while filtering has become more effective, first impressions can be deceiving. Global spam volume continues to increase, with recent surveys indicating that 80 percent of all e-mail is now spam. Spam has also become far more dangerous as many messages secretly contain viruses or other hidden programs that can unwittingly turn ordinary Internet users with broadband connections into large-scale spammers.

Unfortunately the Canadian legal framework has failed to keep pace with the new spam-related concerns.

May 3, 2006 — 3 comments — Columns

The Legal Limits of Government Tinkering With Technology

My weekly Law Bytes column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) uses the recent French Parliament law involving interoperability and Apple's DRM as the basis for a discussion of governments that tinker with technology through regulation. The law should be understood as a logical reaction to mounting consumer frustration with technological limitations on their purchases and a desire for balance in copyright.

Although the French law may appear to be unique, many governments regularly tinker with technology through regulation. For example, the Liberal government last year introduced "lawful access" legislation that would have required Internet service providers to dramatically overhaul their networks by inserting new surveillance technologies. Similarly, the U.S. established "broadcast flag" requirements that would have mandated the inclusion of copy-controls within a wide range of electronic devices (a court struck the requirements down as unconstitutional).

Moreover, experience demonstrates that the private sector may not respond to consumer demands to offer compatible products. The satellite radio market provides a recent example, with the two major providers – XM and Sirius – steadfastly refusing to offer a device that supports both services despite the fact that they have jointly developed just such a product.

With government intervention looming as a possibility and the private market unlikely to resolve compatibility concerns, what principles should regulators adopt to provide all stakeholders with greater certainty about the appropriate circumstances for lawmakers to tinker with technology?

April 18, 2006 — 3 comments — Columns