Wiertz Sebastien - Privacy by Sebastien Wiertz (CC BY 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/ahk6nh

Wiertz Sebastien - Privacy by Sebastien Wiertz (CC BY 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/ahk6nh

Privacy

CIPPIC Launches Privacy Complaint Against Facebook

Students at the University of Ottawa's Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic have filed a privacy complaint against Facebook. The complaint alleges 22 violations of Canada's national privacy law.

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June 2, 2008 10 comments News

BC Privacy Commissioner Says 41 Days Too Long for Breach Notification

All About Information notes a recent B.C. Privacy Commissioner decision which ruled that 41 days is too long to notify affected individuals of a security breach.

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May 26, 2008 Comments are Disabled News

Canadian Press on CIRA Whois Change

The Canadian Press covers the upcoming CIRA Whois change, with CIRA President Byron Holland promoting the fact that the policy will put CIRA at the forefront internationally and acknowledging that the current approach is not consistent with the spirit of the law (I think a strong case can be made […]

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May 24, 2008 1 comment News

Senate Spam Bill Important First Step After Years of Inaction

The Canadian government's lack of action against spam has been one of the most puzzling policy failures in recent years.  While addressing a problem that has grown from a mere nuisance to a costly scourge that raises criminal concerns would seem like a no-brainer, successive Industry Ministers have failed to prioritize the issue.   The need for Canadian anti-spam legislation was the unanimous recommendation of the 2005 National Task Force on Spam, which included members from the Internet, marketing, and consumer communities (I was a member of the task force).  The final report, which was received with approval from the current Conservative (then Liberal) Minister David Emerson, noted that Canada was quickly becoming one of the only Western countries to neglect the issue and was at risk of developing into a haven for spammers seeking refuge in countries with lax anti-spam regulations.

While a government-backed anti-spam bill is still nowhere to be seen, my weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) focuses on the fact that earlier this month Senator Yoine Goldstein quietly stepped into the policy void by introducing the Anti-Spam Act (ASA).  Modeled after widely lauded Australian anti-spam legislation, the ASA is the most comprehensive Canadian anti-spam proposal floated to date and even if it languishes in the Senate (private member's bill rarely become law) it promises to place additional pressure on the government to reveal its own anti-spam plan.

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May 19, 2008 3 comments Columns

Senate Spam Bill Important Step After Years of Inaction

Appeared in the Toronto Star on May 19, 2008 as Senator's Anti-Spam Bill is Welcome News The Canadian government's lack of action against spam has been one of the most puzzling policy failures in recent years.  While addressing a problem that has grown from a mere nuisance to a costly […]

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May 19, 2008 Comments are Disabled Columns Archive