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 […]

Wiertz Sebastien - Privacy by Sebastien Wiertz (CC BY 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/ahk6nh
Privacy
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.
EU Article 29 Working Party Puts ACTA on the Agenda
The EU Article 29 Working Party, which addresses privacy issues in Europe, has placed ACTA on its agenda for its next meeting on July 12-13, 2010.
Setting the Record Straight: 32 Questions and Answers on C-32’s Digital Lock Provisions, Part Two
Yesterday's post on the 32 Questions and Answers on Bill C-32's digital lock provisions focused on general issues in the bill, including compliance with WIPO, the penalty provisions, and their constitutional validity. Today's post discusses the shortcomings in the anti-circumvention exceptions that are included in C-32. With the exception of a new exception for cellphone unlocking, the exceptions are the same as those found in C-61 and a virtual mirror of the U.S. DMCA. For those that want it all in a single package, I've posted the full series as PDF download.
C-32's Circumvention Exceptions
This section features answers to the following questions:
- Bill C-32 contains circumvention exceptions for encryption research and security testing. Doesn't that address the research concerns?
- Bill C-32 contains a circumvention exception for privacy. Doesn't that address the privacy concerns?
- Bill C-32 contains a circumvention exception for the visually impaired. Doesn't that address those access concerns?
- Bill C-32 contains a circumvention exception for interoperability. Doesn't that address those concerns?