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Privacy

Internet Surveillance Bill Threatens British Coalition

The National Post reports that plans to introduce new Internet surveillance legislation is threatening the current British ruling coalition. The bill has yet to be introduced, but has attracted criticism from MPs from all parties.

April 23, 2012 — 4 comments — News

B.C. Privacy Commissioner Calls for Mandatory Data Breach Reporting

B.C. Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham has called on the province to amend its privacy law by adding mandatory data breach reporting requirements. Her office investigated 500 privacy breach cases last year alone.

April 16, 2012 — Comments are Disabled — News

Supreme Court of Canada Wiretap Decision Signals Need for Changes to C-30

The Supreme Court of Canada issued an important decision last week on the wiretap provisions in the Criminal Code that should have an impact on the lawful access/online surveillance bill currently before Parliament. In R. v. Tse, a unanimous court ruled that the current emergency wiretap provision that allows for surveillance without a court order is unconstitutional. The court’s analysis is important because it speaks to one of the major criticisms of Bill C-30 – the lack of accountability. In this particular case, the court rules that warrantless wiretap may be permissible in emergency situations, but that such circumstances make an accountability particularly important:

The jurisprudence is clear that an important objective of the prior authorization requirement is to prevent unreasonable searches. In those exceptional cases in which prior authorization is not essential to a reasonable search, additional safeguards may be necessary, in order to help ensure that the extraordinary power is not being abused. Challenges to the authorizations at trial provide some safeguards, but are not adequate as they will only address instances in which charges are laid and pursued to trial. Thus, the notice requirement, which is practical in these circumstances, provides some additional transparency and serves as a further check that the extraordinary power is not being abused. In our view, Parliament has failed to provide adequate safeguards to address the issue of accountability in relation to s. 184.4. Unless a criminal prosecution results, the targets of the wiretapping may never learn of the interceptions and will be unable to challenge police use of this power.

April 16, 2012 — 9 comments — News

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