Appeared in the Toronto Star on May, 15, 2011 as Web Surveillance Legislation Requires Study, Not Speed With the new Parliamentary session scheduled to kick off within the next few weeks, two major initiatives will dominate the initial legislative agenda: passing a budget and introducing an omnibus crime bill that […]

Come back with a warrant by Rosalyn Davis (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/aoPzWb
Lawful Access
The Lawful Access Legislation: Does it Really Criminalize Linking & Anonymity?
As I have argued for a long time, there are many reasons to be concerned with lawful access. The government has never provided adequate evidence on the need for it, it has never been subject to committee review, it would mandate disclosure of some personal information without court oversight, it would establish a massive ISP regulatory process (including employee background checks), it would install broad new surveillance technologies, and it would cost millions (without a sense of who actually pays). Given these problems, it is not surprising to find that every privacy commissioner in Canada has signed a joint letter expressing their concerns.
Yet while lawful access raises many issues (such that it clearly does not belong in an omnibus bill placed on the fast track), I do not believe that creating criminal liability for linking or anonymous speech are among them.
Government Reaffirms Plans for Lawful Access
Public Safety Minister Vic Toews yesterday re-affirmed the government’s commitment to passing lawful access legislation within 100 sitting days.
“An Attack on Our Liberty”
Plans to include lawful access bills within the Conservative omnibus crime bill has begun to attract some negative attention. The issue has been much discussed on Free Dominion, where there are particular concerns about potential liability for linking to hate material. The Toronto Sun’s Brian Lilley calls the bill an […]
The Conservatives Commitment to Internet Surveillance
The second is to note that all the major parties have strong and weak points on digital issues:
- the Conservatives passed anti-spam legislation, defended fair dealing reform on C-32, and pressured the CRTC on the usage based billing issue (they also failed to strike a balance on digital locks and include a digital economy strategy in their platform)
- the Liberals made a strong commitment on digital policies in their platform, were the first to focus on open government, and called for changes to the digital lock rules (they also failed to take a stand on foreign investment in telecommunications and had MP Dan McTeague openly working with CRIA on an anti-consumer copyright policy)
- the NDP were the first to draw attention to consumer issues on copyright, to commit to net neutrality, and to take a stand on UBB (they also are strong supporters of an iPod levy).
While there are good and bad with each party, the Conservatives new commitment to lawful access – new laws that would establish massive Internet surveillance requirements and the potential disclosure of personal information without court oversight – is incredibly problematic for the Internet, privacy, and online freedoms. It requires real debate yet seems likely to slip under the public radar.