Yesterday's Speech from the Throne matched expectations as the focus was unsurprisingly on the Conservatives' five priorities. There were, however, several noteworthy inclusions and omissions. While there was no specific mention of copyright and the WIPO Treaties, Howard rightly points out that speech did say that "significant treaties will be […]
Wiertz Sebastien - Privacy by Sebastien Wiertz (CC BY 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/ahk6nh
Privacy
Beyond Google
The Department of Justice’s subpoena of Google search data generated considerable attention last month with a judge ultimately ordering disclosure of only a fraction of what the U.S. government initally demanded. At the time, the coverage noted that Google was not the only target with similar requests to AOL, Microsoft, […]
The Telecom Policy Review: The Rest of the Story
Coverage of the release last week of Canada's telecommunications policy review centered primarily on the call for a new regulatory approach that emphasizes market independence over government interference combined with a slimmed-down CRTC and list of policy priorities. My weekly Law Bytes column (Toronto Star version, webpage version) focuses on the rest of the story as the report identified a series of important areas – including network neutrality, ubiquitous broadband access, privacy, spam, and consumer protection – that merit government intervention or support.
Privacy Commissioner Renews Research Program
The Privacy Commissioner of Canada has announced the renewal of a national privacy research program. Details on priorities and the program here.
EU Data Protection Working Party on Email Screening
The European Union Data Protection Working Party has released new recommendations on email screening practices including screening for viruses, spam, and certain content. The report expresses concern with the false positive problem on spam filtering, suggesting that email providers ensure that users have control over the degree of filtering. The […]
Recent Posts
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 232: What Will Canadian Digital Policy Look Like Under the New Liberal Carney Government? 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 231: Sara Bannerman on How Canadian Political Parties Maximize Voter Data Collection and Minimize Privacy Safeguards 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 230: Aengus Bridgman on the 2025 Federal Election, Social Media Platforms, and Misinformation 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 229: My Digital Access Day Keynote – Assessing the Canadian Digital Policy Record 
Queen’s University Trustees Reject Divestment Efforts Emphasizing the Importance of Institutional Neutrality
