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

Time for Canadian Privacy Regulators to Take Action on Pervasive Surveillance

As the near-weekly revelations of pervasive surveillance activities generates both debate and mounting opposition in the United States and Europe, the Canadian reaction has remained somewhat muted. Following an initial flurry of coverage over the surveillance activities of Canadian intelligence agencies, the issue has largely disappeared despite evidence that Canadian data is regularly collected by foreign intelligence agencies, most notably the U.S. National Security Agency.

Interestingly, the battle over the potential entry of Verizon into Canada may have opened the door to greater public scrutiny of the privacy practices of all telecom carriers. The debate unexpectedly features a privacy and surveillance dimension, with the incumbents and their unions raising fears about the link between Verizon and U.S. surveillance.

Verizon may raise privacy concerns, but my weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes it is worth asking whether the Canadian carriers can provide assurances that Canadian phone and Internet activity is any less prone to surveillance. The major Canadian carriers have been very secretive about many of these issues. In fact, a recent University of Toronto report found that none issue transparency reports (Google, Twitter, and Microsoft do), inform users about data requests, state where data is routed and stored, or avoid U.S. routing.
 

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August 27, 2013 16 comments Columns

Time for Canadian Privacy Regulators to Take Action on Pervasive Surveillance

Appeared in the Toronto Star on August 24, 2013 as Time for Canadian Privacy Regulators to Take Action on Pervasive Surveillance As the near-weekly revelations of pervasive surveillance activities generates both debate and mounting opposition in the United States and Europe, the Canadian reaction has remained somewhat muted. Following an […]

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August 27, 2013 Comments are Disabled Columns Archive

CSEC Commissioner: Canadians May Have Been Illegally Targeted in Surveillance Activities

The Communications Security Establishment Commissioner released his annual report yesterday with findings that some Canadians may have been the subject of surveillance activities in violation of the law. The finding states: I had no concern with respect to the majority of the CSEC activities reviewed. However, a small number of […]

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August 22, 2013 14 comments News

Does it Matter Where Your Data Lives?

Appeared in the Toronto Star on August 17, 2013 as Does it Matter Where Your Data Lives? Does it matter where your computer data such as email, digital photos, personal videos, and documents resides? The Canadian Chamber of Commerce apparently doesn’t think so. It recently joined forces with its U.S. […]

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August 21, 2013 Comments are Disabled Columns Archive

The Verizon Privacy Risk: Are Canadian Carriers A More Privacy-Friendly Choice?

As part of the campaign against Verizon, opponents have begun to focus on the privacy implications of allowing the U.S. giant into Canada. In a blog post on the company site, Telus points to its privacy work (including fighting a key case to the Supreme Court of Canada) and then raises the spectre of a loss of privacy should Verizon enter the market:

The Canadian government needs to take a hard look at this important issue and ensure that Canadians’ privacy expectations continue to be met; especially if a U.S. communications company sets up shop here. Some U.S. laws, such as Patriot Act, can be quite invasive and could have detrimental impacts on the level of privacy experienced by Canadian wireless users.

The Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union raised similar concerns in an article over the weekend that warned about the danger of NSA spying on Canadians should Verizon enter Canada.

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August 12, 2013 12 comments News