Appeared in the Toronto Star on November 3, 2008 as Treaty Consultation Process Snubs Public Earlier this year, many Canadians were taken aback by reports of a secret trade agreement that conjured up images of iPod-searching border guards and tough new penalties for every day activities. The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, […]
Cooperation in the Pacific Rim by Jakob Polacsek, World Economic Forum (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) https://www.flickr.com/photos/worldeconomicforum/48179628441
Digital Trade
Conservatives Promise to Re-Introduce Canadian DMCA
The Conservative Party has released its platform and it devotes a half-page to copyright that leaves little doubt that it plans to bring back Bill C-61 and continue to support ACTA. According to the platform: A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will reintroduce federal copyright legislation that strikes […]
U.S. Senators Express Concern About ACTA
U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy and Arlen Specter, typically associated with increased IP protection, have issued a public letter to the USTR expressing concern about the current direction of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement negotiations.
Groups Call for ACTA Transparency
More than 100 groups have issued a public letter calling on the U.S., Canada, and other ACTA-negotiating countries to immediately publish the draft text of the agreement. I agreed to serve as the Canadian contact on the release.
The Battle Over Internet Filtering
Earlier this week I attended a seminar in Brussels on the "telecoms package" currently before the European Parliament [partial video]. One of the most controversial elements in the package are the prospect for mandated ISP filtering or blocking of allegedly copyright infringing materials. Those requirements would build on other national and international developments including the still-secret Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement and the "three strikes and you're out" policies ("graduated response") in some European countries.
The seminar was illuminating since all of the most vocal stakeholders were in attendance (either as part of the panel or in the audience) and most were pretty transparent about their interests in the issue. I walked away with the following scorecard:
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Bill C-22’s Clause-by-Clause Problem: The Government Includes Agencies Seeking Lawful Access Powers But Blocks the Privacy Commissioner’s Return 
You Can’t Put the Toothpaste Back in the Tube: Why the Government’s Reported “Temporary” Plan for a Kids’ Social Media Ban Would Mean Mandated ID for Everyone 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 271: Taking Stock of a Wild Week in Canadian Digital Policy With the Online Streaming Reversal, AI Strategy Release, and Lawful Access Review 
Canadian American Business Council on Bill C-22: It “Threatens Our Bilateral Partnership on Data Security”
