The 61 reforms series now shifts to several weeks worth of postings on the fundamentally flawed, dangerous, and stunningly overbroad anti-circumvention provisions in Bill C-61. The digital lock rules have rightly been the primary focus of attention for most groups as they are far more restrictive than the Liberal's C-60, more restrictive than approaches in other countries such as New Zealand, and arguably even more restrictive than the rules under the U.S. DMCA. The Canadian DMCA goes far beyond what is needed to comply with the WIPO Internet treaties and ultimately have the effect of eviscerating fair dealing in the digital environment.
Even with the many reforms I plan to propose, the reality is that these provisions will still be problematic. I question the need for anti-circumvention legislation (as do countries like Israel which declined to include it in their recent set of reforms). If the government is committed to anti-circumvention legislation, however, major amendments are critical.
With an eye on the launch of the Apple iPhone in Canada today, I start the anti-circumvention problems with their effect on locked cellphones. As currently drafted, the bill could make it an infringement to unlock a cellphone and would certainly make the distribution of programs used to unlock cellphones (or service providers that do so) illegal. Why is this the case?
