The EU Article 29 Data Protection Working Party, which included ACTA on its agenda as part of its meetings last week, has written to Commissioner Karel de Gucht to express concern about the privacy implications of ACTA. The Working Party is particularly concerned with notice-and-takedown procedures, customs searches, and criminalization.
Wiertz Sebastien - Privacy by Sebastien Wiertz (CC BY 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/ahk6nh
Privacy
Canadian Publishers Council: Evidentiary Burden Too High in Copyright Cases
The Canadian Publishers Council has delivered its submission on the national digital economy strategy, expressing concern that privacy rules could make it difficult to target alleged infringers. The CPC warns: privacy protections should not be utilized in ways that preclude rights holders, domestic or international, from identifying consumers who are […]
Ole Calls for ISP Monitoring of Customer Content
Ole, a Canadian music publishing firm, has called on the Canadian government to establish a ISP monitoring system of content viewed by subscribers. Saying that ISPs should mimic cable/TV, it argues that ISPs could track content and pay rights holders for what is viewed. The word "privacy" does not appear […]
The Digital Economy Strategy Consultation: My Submission
Last night I submitted my response to the government’s digital economy strategy consultation. A text version is posted below. A PDF version can be downloaded here.
The submission touches on a wide range of issues, including general concerns such as who leads the strategy, who pays for it, and the value in identifying openness as a general principle. It then discusses specific concerns around infrastructure (broadband networks, net neutrality, digital television transition, foreign investment), capacity to innovate (spam, security breach disclosure, Privacy Act, lawful access), and digital content (copyright reform, open data, open access, digitization, domain names).
Update: The submission has now been posted on the consultation website.
Federal Court Rules in State Farm Privacy Case
Earlier this year, I wrote about a federal court case in which State Farm argued that Canadian private sector privacy law was unconstitutional. The court issued its ruling last week, finding in favour of State Farm but not addressing the constitutional arguments.
Recent Posts
Solomon’s Choice: Charting the Future of AI Policy in Canada 
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
