Commissioner Cavoukian: Conservatives’ Lawful Access legislation will diminish our privacy rights

Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner Ann Cavoukian has added her voice to the growing chorus of critics of the federal Conservatives’ promised “lawful access” legislation that will expand state surveillance of the Internet and telecommunications.

Ms. Cavoukian has issued a devastating critique of the imminent legislation– the most comprehensive and authoritative analysis to date.

In a lengthy open letter to the government, she states, “It is misleading to call [the legislation] ‘lawful.’ Let’s call it what it is – a system of expanded surveillance.

“At issue is the anticipated re-introduction of a trio of federal bills that will provide police with much greater ability to access and track information, via the communications technologies we use every day, such as the Internet, smart phones and other mobile devices. I have no doubt that, collectively, the legislation will substantially diminish the privacy rights of Ontarians and Canadians as a whole.”

To read the news release, letter, and media, click here.