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Privacy

Telcos on Lawful Access: Primary Concern is Who Pays

Last week, I posted about a recent Justice Committee report that includes recommendations that would expand Bill C-30, the lawful access/online surveillance bill, in several important ways. Toward the end of the post is a comment from Bell on the issue. While the source article is no longer available online – it appears to have been pulled – the company spokesperson states:

“Our primary concern in this area has always been the capacity of industry to implement any new requirements and who bears the cost.”

The message from Bell that it prioritizes cost on the lawful access issue should not come as a surprise. For years, the telecom and Internet provider community have focused most of their attention on the costs associated with divulging subscriber information or responding to other law enforcement requests. While recouping the costs associated with installing new surveillance-capable equipment is an obvious issue, the potential to turn subscriber information disclosures into a new revenue source is particularly troubling.

April 11, 2012 — 10 comments — News

Justice Committee Report Recommends Expanding Lawful Access Legislation

The government has placed Bill C-30, the lawful access/online surveillance bill on hold, but there is no reason to believe it is going away. In fact, a recent report Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights suggests that the changes coming to the bill may not address public concern but rather expand lawful access requirements even further. The committee report on the State of Organized Crime that includes recommendations that reinforce Bill C-30’s mandatory warrantless disclosure of subscriber information and envision going beyond the bill by requiring both telecom companies and device manufacturers to assist in the decryption of encrypted communications as well as exploring mandatory verification of the identity of cellphone users.

April 4, 2012 — 37 comments — News

Canadian Music Industry Wants Its Own Lawful Access: Subscriber Disclosure Without a Court Order

Last week I wrote about the astonishing demands of the Canadian music industry as it seeks a massive overhaul of Bill C-11, the copyright reform bill. The Canadian Independent Music Association is seeking changes to the enabler provision that would create liability risk for social networking sites, search engines, blogging platforms, video sites, and many other websites featuring third party contributions. If that were not enough, it is also calling for a new iPod tax, an extension in the term of copyright, a removal of protections for user generated content, parody, and satire, as well as an increase in statutory damage awards.

CIMA and ADISQ, which represents the Quebec music industry, appeared before the C-11 committee last week and the demands only seemed to increase. For example, ADISQ is asking the government to add a requirement for Internet providers to disclose customer name and address information to copyright owners without court oversight. Conservative MP Paul Calandra rightly noted the obvious parallels to Bill C-30, where the government wants similar disclosures to law enforcement. In this case, however, ADISQ wants the information disclosed to a private party based on nothing more than an allegation of infringement. Calandra’s comments suggest that the government recognizes the dangers of such an approach.

The proposed lack of due process is not limited to the disclosure of subscriber information. During its appearance, CIMA said it wanted a takedown system without any due process.

March 5, 2012 — 45 comments — News

Why a Lawful Access Compromise Can Be Found

The launch of Bill C-30, the online surveillance legislation dubbed the Protecting Children from Internet Predators Act, went about as expected with the government taken to task with big brother imagery (“Say Hello to Big Brother Government“) and criticism over the lack of evidence (“Conservatives hew to common sense save for bizarre crime fixation“), the security threats (“Online surveillance bill will be â€˜a gold mine’ for hackers: Ontario privacy commissioner“), and the absence of a thoughtful digital vision (“Canada’s embarrassing failure on lawful access legislation“). The divisive comments from Public Safety Minister Vic Toews seemed to shape much of the dialogue, serving to ratchet up the rhetoric and overshadow both the modest changes to the bill and the legitimate remaining concerns of many Canadians.

I did a large number of interviews with print, radio (the As It Happens interview covers many of the concerns), and television (CBC, CTV, and Global) and was left wondering whether there is a compromise to be had in an environment where the Conservative majority government can obviously pass the bill but only at a significant political cost given public opinion. I may be naive, but I think it is possible.

February 15, 2012 — 79 comments — News

Toews Has Been Smearing Online Surveillance Critics For Weeks

Public Safety Minister Vic Toews’ shocking comments on critics of online surveillance in the House of Commons yesterday have attracted widespread media attention with coverage in the Globe, CBC, and Postmedia. Toews responded to questions about online surveillance by accusing critics of siding with child pornographers:

As technology evolves, many criminal activities, such as the distribution of child pornography, become much easier. We are proposing measures to bring our laws into the 21st century and to provide the police with the lawful tools that they need. He can either stand with us or with the child pornographers.

Toews may be surprised by the negative reaction because he has been saying similar things for weeks. Consider:

February 14, 2012 — 77 comments — News