Bar Association Concerns about Unmonitored Monitoring by Canadian ISPs

The Canadian Bar Association (CBA) has expressed serious concern about possible monitoring and disclosure by ISPs of their customers' Internet activity and the implications this has for solicitor-client privilege. The CBA expressed its view in an open letter dated July 5, 2006 addressed to Vic Toews, Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Stockwell Day, Minister of Public Safety, and Maxine Bernier, Minister of Industry. Immediate concerns have been triggered because major Canadian ISPs have added extremely broad provisions in their end user agreements allowing them to monitor or investigate content and use of their services. This includes the purported right to disclose any related information to governments, including foreign ones, on request. In addition to the general concern about individual privacy, the CBA points out that solicitor-client privilege belongs to the individual seeking legal advice, whereas some ISPs are claiming the right to disclose any or all communications without prior judicial authorization. Bill C-74, which died on the order paper last November, would have required telecommunications service providers to assist law enforcement and national security agencies in monitoring subscribers targeted by those agencies (see E-TIPS®, Vol 4, No 12, December 7, 2005, "Internet Surveillance Bill on Hold for Now"). Most observers expect a similar bill to be reintroduced by the Conservative government later in 2006 or early in 2007. For the text of the CBA's open letter, visit: http://www.cba.org/CBA/submissions/pdf/06-31-eng.pdf. For sample end-user agreement, see: http://makeashorterlink.com/?Y2A562E6D For a related news story, see: http://makeashorterlink.com/?A1B524E6D Summary by: Tom Feather