Post Tagged with: "c-58"

Secret by Nathan Rupert (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/dcmDEG

Why the Government’s ATI Reform Bill is a Promise Broken: Proactive Disclosure ≠ Access to Information

When political parties find themselves in opposition, promising to fix the access to information system invariably seems like a good idea. The public is often skeptical about whether the government is transparent and when combined with a woefully outdated Access to Information Act, reform provides a ripe target. Stephen Harper’s Conservatives promised a long list of access to information reforms before taking power, most of which were never acted upon. Justin Trudeau’s Liberals made similar promises when in opposition, unveiling a 32-point plan in June 2015 that pledged a fair and open government backed by access to information reform.

The government introduced Bill C-58 yesterday, the bill promoted as fulfilling its commitment on access to information reform. Discouragingly, it fails to do so. The bill does include some notable improvements, including implementing order making power for the Information Commissioner and establishing a requirement to justify, with written reasons, why information is redacted. However, the bill does not live up to the campaign promise nor does it fully address longstanding concerns with the law.

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June 20, 2017 2 comments News

Government Reintroduces ISP Child Pornography Reporting Bill

The Government has reintroduced a bill designed to require providers of Internet services to report incidents of child pornography.  The bill was introduced as Bill C-58 last year.  I discussed the bill here. The new bill is Bill C-22.

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May 7, 2010 1 comment News

Legislative Proposals Signal New Policing Requirements for Internet Providers

Appeared in the Toronto Star on November 30, 2009 as Will Web Child-Porn Bill Do More Harm Than Good? Last week federal Justice Minister Robert Nicholson introduced new legislation that, if enacted, will establish mandatory disclosure requirements for Internet providers to report child pornography websites or subscribers they believe are […]

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November 30, 2009 Comments are Disabled Columns Archive

Government Introduces Mandatory Child Porn Reporting Law

Justice Minister Rob Nicholson today tabled the Child Protection Act (Online Sexual Exploitation).  As widely reported, Bill C-58 creates a mandatory disclosure requirement on Internet providers where they become aware of child pornography websites or have reason to believe a subscriber is using their service to violate child pornography laws.  Where an Internet provider submits a report on a user, they must preserve the relevant computer data for 21 days and they are prohibited from disclosing the disclosure to the customer.  Failure to report may result in fines or imprisonment and providers are granted immunity from liability for reporting the activity.  The definition of Internet provider is broad, extending beyond just ISPs to include those providing Internet access, hosting, or email services.  In other words, services like Google, Hotmail, and Facebook are all covered.

The bill shares similarities with provincial laws (ie. Ontario) and those that report under the provincial law are exempt from the federal version.  While few will criticize a bill targeting child pornography – everyone agrees that child pornography is abhorrent and we need to ensure that we have laws to deal with the problem – it is hard to see what this bill actually accomplishes.  Canada already has:

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November 24, 2009 27 comments News