Privacy Czar, Tech Giants Call for Changes to Contentious Digital Evidence Access Bill
Philippe Dufresne said the bill needs clearer privacy limits and oversight as MPs weigh powers that could require up to a year of metadata retention.
- On Tuesday, Privacy Commissioner Philippe Dufresne warned MPs that Bill C-22 poses risks to Canadian privacy and recommended amendments including allowing his office to investigate data breaches from the new surveillance powers.
- The revised legislation emerged after the government's initial lawful access attempt drew fierce opposition from civil liberty groups; Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree tabled this reworked version in March, with the bill advancing to committee hearings in early May.
- Dufresne detailed concerns about the bill's vague definitions and overly broad ministerial powers, noting it would permit covertly resetting passwords and creating fake social media profiles, and he urged an 'overarching requirement' limiting obligations to 'what is necessary and proportionate.'
- Apple senior director Erik Neuenschwander told the committee the bill's secrecy provisions forbid companies from discussing surveillance orders with users, calling it 'maybe one of the last times we're permitted to discuss' the legislation publicly; Dufresne requested exemptions for regulatory disclosure.
- With Parliament rising for summer in three weeks, the committee faces pressure to finalize amendments; Signal and NordVPN warned they could exit Canada if the bill passes unchanged, while Minister Anandasangaree committed to amendments clarifying encryption protection and defining metadata.
32 Articles
32 Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
Ottawa to amend encryption, metadata elements of contentious lawful access bill
OTTAWA - The federal government will amend its controversial lawful access bill to address concern around provisions involving encryption and metadata, Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said Wednesday.
Privacy czar, tech giants call for changes to contentious digital evidence access bill
Canada’s privacy commissioner and key representatives from major tech companies are adding their voices to calls for significant amendments to a federal bill which proposes a revised 'lawful access' regime that’s meant to make it easier for law enforcement to access digital evidence.
More Misinformation on Bill C-22 as the Government Struggles to Defend Its Lawful Access Plan
Two posts on Bill C-22 in a single day are not my typical approach, but the volume of misinformation coming from the government about the lawful access bill has made it hard to keep up. Earlier today, I posted about the repeated use by government ministers and MPs of the phony “it’s just phone book information” analogy to misleadingly describe the collection of subscriber data and metadata. But a press conference yesterday by Public Safety Minist
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