Ontario Privacy Commissioner Critical of 'lawful access' Initiative

The Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner (Commissioner) has criticized the federal government's recent attempts to give law enforcement new legal powers to catch criminals in cyberspace, warning that the proposal would allow the state to collect extensive electronic information and intelligence about individuals without appropriate privacy safeguards. Canada is one of the most wired nations in the world. Canadians no longer need to leave their homes to shop, study, bank, socialize or consult. Everyday use of new digital technologies routinely generates highly revealing records of personal information in cyberspace. In a letter to federal Justice Minister Irwin Cotler, Ontario Assistant Commissioner for Privacy Ken Andersen argued that our participation in the information economy should not mean a surrender of our rights to privacy, and he made three broad recommendations for improving the privacy protections in the lawful access proposal. First, the Commissioner recommended that a task force be struck immediately to coordinate efforts between government, the private sector, universities and other groups on privacy and security research. The Commissioner noted that this task force should precede any legislative amendments to state surveillance authority. Second, the Commissioner called for increased appreciation of the potential sensitivity of the information which could be produced under the new lawful access powers, recommending that access to information associated with private electronic communications be subject to rigorous independent oversight. The Commissioner noted that traditional surveillance powers, such as search and seizure warrants and wiretap authorizations, are already subject to stringent judicial oversight under the Criminal Code, in no small measure because their effectiveness would erase any notion of privacy were they not to be subject to such conditions. Third, the Commissioner called for the creation of an independent, arm's-length surveillance and access review agency, much like a model already established by other countries, notably Switzerland. This agency would supervise access to highly sensitive personal information by law enforcement and report annually to Parliament on the effectiveness of the regime. [Note: The Department of Justice has not yet made public the 2005 lawful access proposals, referenced in the Commissioner's letter]. For a copy of the letter from Assistant Commissioner Andersen to Minister Cotler, see: http://ipcletter.notlong.com For the 2002 Lawful Access Consultation Document, visit: http://canada.justice.gc.ca/en/cons/la_al/ Visit the Cybercrime and Lawful Access information site at: http://www.lexinformatica.org/cybercrime/ Summary by: Jason Young