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

30 Days of DRM: 30 Things You Can Do

Update (December 3, 2007) – I have posted a newly updated version of what you can do in light of the forthcoming Canadian DMCA. The posting includes a YouTube video, a Facebook group, and updated contact information.

Update (November 29/07): With a Canadian DMCA seemingly imminent, the importance of speaking out has never been more important. Some details on the likely new bill can be found here.  I've updated the 30 Things You Can Do to reflect the new Ministers. 

The House of Commons is back in session and, as I promised last month, the 30 Days of DRM project has now concluded.  The postings remain accessible via the 30 Days of DRM page, the wiki, and a new PDF version that incorporates all postings into a single document.

The project generated considerable commentary online and lots of email offline.  The most frequently asked question provides reason for optimism as many people simply asked "what can I do?"  I typically responded that the best starting point was to write to their local Member of Parliament.  Upon reflection, there is more that can be done and to that end, I offer up 30 things you can do about the issues raised by the 30 days of DRM project.

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September 18, 2006 21 comments News

PIPEDA and Order Making Power

The deadline for submissions to the Privacy Commissioner of Canada's PIPEDA review consultation passed yesterday (given that I sit on the Commissioner's advisory board I did not enter a submission).  The consultation raises a number of key issues including order making power, reporting mechanisms, and general strengthening of the national […]

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September 8, 2006 2 comments News

Australia A.G. Releases Draft TPM Legislation

While Canada is still weeks or months from new legislation (hence the 30 Days of DRM project), Australia's Attorney General has just released draft anti-circumvention legislation.  Australia faces different circumstances from Canada since its free trade agreement with the U.S. requires new laws by the end of the year.  The […]

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September 4, 2006 2 comments News

Privacy Commissioner Expresses Concern Over Lawful Access

Federal Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart is expressing concern over potential lawful access legislation, stating that "as privacy commissioner, I want to have a lot of questions answered about why this is necessary because, up to now, I haven't been convinced."

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September 1, 2006 1 comment News

30 Days of DRM – Day 08: Privacy (Circumvention Rights)

Today's post kicks off the heart of the 30 Days of DRM series – circumvention rights.  Circumvention rights are necessary since everyone agrees that an absolute anti-circumvention provision (ie. circumvention prohibited in all circumstances) is unworkable.  There are instances where such a prohibition would result in significant costs by precluding beneficial activities, creating "unintended consequences", and lead to significant harm to the public.  Indeed, the DMCA itself includes several narrow exceptions to the general anti-circumvention rule.

The approach in Bill C-60 was to limit (the government believed eliminate) the need for circumvention rights by creating a direct link between circumvention and copyright.  Bill C-60 only made it an offence to circumvent a technological measure for the purposes of copyright infringement.  In other words, if you had another purpose – for example, protecting your personal privacy – the anti-circumvention provision would not be triggered. 

If the new copyright bill adopts a U.S. style approach, then a crucial part of the discussion will be whether the government has identified all the necessary rights to limit the harms associated with anti-circumvention legislation.  While these rights might be characterized by some as exceptions, I think they are more appropriately viewed as circumvention rights, analogous to the Supreme Court of Canada's emphasis on user rights.

Privacy protection is an obvious example of a circumvention right.

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August 26, 2006 1 comment News