News

India seeks Canada's help in tracking BlackBerry users

- 2008-03-13 -

According to a news report from The Times, the Indian government is asking Canada for help in intercepting messages sent via BlackBerries in India. This comes after the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs refused to grant further licences to BlackBerry operators in India, giving them to the end of the month to explain how they route users' e-mails. India's security officials are concerned about their ability to intercept messages on the encrypted system, which routes messages to servers outside India.

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Google-Doubleclick merger proceeds

- 2008-03-12 -

Despite opposition from public interest groups, Google's acquisition of the online advertising giant DoubleClick is proceeding, after approval from competition authorities in the US and EU. The European authority noted, however, that its approval was with respect to anti-trust law, not privacy matters, and that Google/DoubleClick remains subject to EU privacy laws. The Canadian Competition Bureau and the Privacy Commissioner of Canada have yet to respond to CIPPIC's applications last summer/fall regarding potential anti-competitive and privacy impacts of the proposed merger.

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Privacy Commissioners release Guidelines on Video Surveillance

- 2008-03-07 -

Privacy Commissioners of Canada, Alberta and B.C. have jointly released new guidelines for private sector use of overt video surveillance. Earlier this week, the Ontario Privacy Commissioner released a Special Report on the use of video surveillance in mass transit systems, prompted by a complaint about the Toronto Transit Commission's recent deployment of cameras in subway stations.

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CIPPIC responds to telco appeals

- 2008-03-05 -

In a submission made to the CRTC today, CIPPIC responds to Applications by Bell Canada et al, Bragg Communications et al, and SaskTel to review and vary Telecom Decision CRTC 2007-130. The telecom service providers ("TSPs") challenge, among other things, the CRTC's decisions to require their participation in a new consumer complaints agency, and to allow the new agency to disregard the liability limitation clauses included in TSP terms of service.

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CIPPIC releases a short video about copyright law reform in Canada

- 2008-02-20 -

The Canadian government is expected to introduce copyright legislation modeled on the controversial American Digital Millennium Copyright Act. How will this affect Canadians' everyday life? To explain this issue, CIPPIC has produced a short movie, now available on our website.

Watch CIPPIC's video about copyright in law reform Canada in English
Voir le video de la CIPPIC sur la réforme de la loi sur le droit d'auteur au Canada en français

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Ticketmaster changes policies as a result of CIPPIC complaint

- 2008-02-14 -

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPCC) today issued its findings on CIPPIC's November 2005 complaint against Ticketmaster. The OPCC found that CIPPIC's allegations regarding lack of openness and consent were well-founded, and that as a result, Ticketmaster had changed its policies and practices so as to comply with the law and respect customer privacy.

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Massive Canadian Business Coalition Demands Balanced Copyright

- 2008-02-13 -

Michael Geist is reporting that a large, broad-based coalition of Canadian businesses has formed to demand balanced copyright laws. The Business Coalition for Balanced Copyright brings together giants in the Canadian technology space, including membership organizations such as the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB), Canadian Association of Internet Providers, a division of CATAlliance (CAIP), Canadian Cable Systems Alliance (CCSA), Canadian Wireless and Telecommunications Association (CWTA), Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), Retail Council of Canada (RCC), and dozens of individual companies including Google, Third Brigade, Tucows, Yahoo! Canada, Cogeco, Rogers Communications Inc., and Telus. The coalition proposes a series of amendments to the Copyright Act that include expanded fair dealing, anti-circumvention laws that do not prohibit otherwise lawful dealings, and no liability for ISPs that act neutrally towards content.
Updates:

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US court bars unauthorized sale of phone records

- 2008-01-29 -

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has successfully sued a U.S. databroker for using false pretences to gather and sell consumers' phone records to third parties without the consumer's knowledge or consent. Accusearch, doing business as Abika.com, is also the subject of a complaint originally filed by CIPPIC with the Canadian Privacy Commissioner in June 2004. CIPPIC alleges that the company gathers and sells personal information about Canadians without their consent, in contravention of federal data protection law. CIPPIC is awaiting a finding on its complaint.

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Canada's Privacy Community Releases Open Letter on Copyright

- 2008-01-24 -

Canada's Privacy Community has released an open letter calling on Canada's minister responsible for Canadian copyright policy to consult widely with privacy experts prior to introducing copyright legislation. The letter follows correspondence from the Privacy Commissioner of Canada last week identifying some of the privacy interests implicated by proposed digital copyright laws.

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Privacy Commissioner of Canada Voices Copyright Concerns

- 2008-01-21 -

Canada's Privacy Commissioner has written to Ministers responsible for copyright policy regarding the privacy implications of possible amendments to the Copyright Act. The Commissioner notes that proposed anti-circumvention laws and ISP obligations to retain subscriber information both raise significant privacy issues.

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