Post Tagged with: "c-2"

privacy-is-dead by td-london https://flic.kr/p/62afS1 CC BY-NC 2.0

“Big Brother Tactics”: Why Bill C-2’s New Warrantless Disclosure Demand Powers Extend Far Beyond Internet and Telecom Providers

The government’s inclusion of warrantless information demand powers in Bill C-2 may make this the most dangerous lawful access proposal yet, exceeding even the 2010 bill led by Conservative Public Safety Minister Vic Toews. The initial concern regarding the bill’s warrantless disclosure demand unsurprisingly focused on whether the proposal was consistent with Supreme Court of Canada jurisprudence upholding the reasonable expectation of privacy in basic subscriber information (there is a strong argument it is not). The application of this new power was generally framed as a matter for telecom and Internet companies, given that companies such as Bell, Rogers, and Telus are typically the focal point for law enforcement seeking information on subscriber activity. However, it has become increasingly apparent that this is an overly restrictive reading of the provision. The Bill C-2 information demand power doesn’t just target telecom providers. It targets everyone who provides services with the prospect of near limitless targets for warrantless disclosure demands.

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June 18, 2025 8 comments News
Please! By Josh Hallett (CC-BY 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/yALRk

The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 236: Robert Diab on the Return of Lawful Access

Lawful access is back. Bill C-2, the government’s border bill, includes a new information demand power that would result in warrantless disclosure of information about a subscriber, a new international production order, and requirements for providers to assist law enforcement in working with their networks.

There will no doubt be multiple podcast episodes devoted to this bill in the coming months. To get started, Robert Diab, a law professor at Thompson Rivers University and the co-author of a recent text on Search and Seizure joins the Law Bytes podcast to discuss the historical context of lawful access and the key provisions in this bill.

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June 16, 2025 1 comment Podcasts
priVacy by Lee Harkness https://flic.kr/p/9FZSmo CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Why the Government’s Plan for Warrantless Access to Internet Subscriber Information Will Lead to Millions of Disclosure Demands Each Year

The government’s plan for warrantless disclosure of Internet subscriber information is rightly attracting increasing attention as sneaking lawful access provisions into a border bill raises significant privacy concerns. As I pointed out last week, Bill C-2’s new “information demand” power – which can be used by a wide range of enforcement agencies over literally any potential offence of any Act of Parliament – is certain to spark a legal challenge given the Supreme Court of Canada’s previous decisions in Spencer and Bykovets. While the government has tried to paint the information at stake as “phone book” information with little privacy value, the reality is far different. The information demand includes whether the provider provides or has provided services to a particular subscriber or client, or to any account or identifier, whether there is transmission data on hand (who was the person communicating with and what apps were they using) as well as where and when the service was provided. The information demand can also cover when service began, when it ended, and what other communications services are used by the subscriber. The specific content would require a warrant, but all of this data, which can be very revealing, would be available without judicial oversight. Further, providers would be prohibited from disclosing the disclosure for a year and would receive legal immunity if they voluntarily provide the information without even requiring an information demand request.

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June 10, 2025 3 comments News
Phonebooks galore by Tim Welch https://flic.kr/p/wAs3S CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

More Than Just Phone Book Data: Why the Government is Dangerously Misleading on its Warrantless Demands for Internet Subscriber Information

Government and law enforcement justifications for warrantless access to Internet subscriber information has long been defended on the grounds that the information being demanded carries little privacy interest. The go-to claim was always that it was “phone book information”, a reference to the largely discontinued practice of printing an annual public directory that included name, address, and phone number. The problem with that argument was that the information at issue included data points such as IP addresses and device identifiers, which could be used to track users and monitor online activity without a warrant. Moreover, linking a specific user to a specific IP address or other identifier effectively unlocks the door to potentially very sensitive information that is otherwise unavailable. Indeed, there is a reason that law enforcement logged over a million warrantless requests per year for basic subscriber information prior to the Supreme Court shutting down the practice.

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June 6, 2025 2 comments News
Welcome Mat by Bruce Bortin https://flic.kr/p/dZGkk CC BY-NC 2.0

Privacy At Risk: Government Buries Lawful Access Provisions in New Border Bill

The government yesterday introduced the Strong Border Act (Bill C-2), legislation that was promoted as establishing new border measure provisions presumably designed to address U.S. concerns regarding the border. Yet buried toward the end of the bill are lawful access provisions that have nothing to do with the border. Those provisions, which raise the prospect of warrantless access to information about Internet subscribers, establish new global production orders of subscriber information, and envision new levels of access to data held by electronic service providers, mark the latest attempt in a longstanding campaign by Canadian law enforcement for lawful access legislation. Stymied by the Supreme Court of Canada (which has ruled that there is a reasonable expectation of privacy in subscriber data) and by repeated failures to present a compelling evidentiary case for warrantless access, law enforcement has instead tried to frame lawful access as essential to address everything from organized crime to cyber-bullying to (now) border safety. Much like the government’s overreach last year on online harms, Bill C-2 overreaches by including measures on Internet subscriber data that have nothing to do with border safety or security but raise privacy and civil liberties concerns that are bound to spark opposition. This post provides the background on lawful access and an overview of some Bill C-2’s provisions with more details on key elements to come.

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June 4, 2025 8 comments News