Justice

Justice


Ontario, Bell won’t say how much money they made from inmate phone calls

TORONTO — Neither Bell Canada nor the Ontario government will say how much money they made from a jail phone system that charged what lawyers describe as “exorbitant” rates for inmate calls over eight years. Bell operated the Offender Telephone Management System from 2013 to 2021 — which allowed inmates to only place collect calls […]

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Mass. US Attorney Rachael Rollins to resign after Justice Department watchdog probe

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins will resign following a monthslong investigation by the Justice Department’s inspector general into her appearance at a political fundraiser and other potential ethics issues, her attorney said Tuesday. The Justice Department’s watchdog has yet to release its report detailing the findings of its investigation, but an attorney […]

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China sentences 78 year old US citizen to life in prison on spying charges

BEIJING (AP) — China sentenced a 78-year-old United States citizen to life in prison Monday on spying charges, in a case that could exacerbate the deterioration in ties between Beijing and Washington over recent years. Details of the charges against John Shing-Wan Leung, who also holds permanent residency in Hong Kong, have not been publicly […]

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‘Systemic difficulties’ hampered review of Canada’s cyberspy service: watchdog

OTTAWA — A culture within Canada’s cyberspy service of “resisting and impeding” independent review has frustrated efforts to ensure it is obeying the law, say newly released documents from the federal intelligence watchdog. The unusually candid National Security and Intelligence Review Agency records from 2021 are the latest evidence of the watchdog’s irritation at trying […]

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Privacy commissioner appeals Federal Court decision in Facebook case

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada is appealing a recent decision by the Federal Court, which sided with Facebook in a case tied to the Cambridge Analytica affair. A judge in April dismissed the federal privacy watchdog’s bid for a declaration that the social media giant, now known as Meta, broke the law […]

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Minnesota advances deepfakes bill to criminalize people sharing altered sexual, political content

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — In a nearly unanimous vote, Minnesota Senate lawmakers passed a bill Wednesday that would criminalize people who non-consensually share deepfake sexual images of others, and people who share deepfakes to hurt a political candidate or influence an election. Deepfakes are videos and images that have been digitally created or altered […]

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After killings, calls to protect S. Africa’s whistleblowers

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — An accountant working on a high-profile corruption case was killed along with his son by unknown gunmen while traveling on one of South Africa’s main highways. A government health department employee who warned of illegal dealings worth nearly $50 million was shot 12 times in the driveway of her home. The slayings […]

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Old Montreal fire: Inspectors cited building owner multiple times before deadly blaze

MONTREAL — Inspectors from the Montreal fire department reported multiple fire code violations during visits to an Old Montreal heritage building in the years leading up to a fire last March that killed seven people. Documents released by the City of Montreal under access to information laws show that inspectors cited the building’s owner, Emile-Haim […]

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Canada, U.S. to share more data in fight against cross border gun smuggling, opioids

OTTAWA — Canada and the United States have agreed to share more information about the smuggling of guns and drugs across their shared border. Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said Ottawa has signed four new or updated agreements with Washington that allow the RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency to exchange more data with partners […]

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Congress’ anger at FBI shapes surveillance program’s future

WASHINGTON (AP) — Growing anger at the FBI from both parties in Congress has become a major hurdle for U.S. intelligence agencies fighting to keep their vast powers to collect foreign communications that often sweep up the phone calls and emails of Americans. Key lawmakers say they won’t vote to renew the programs under Section […]

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Commission increases refund ATCO owes over attempt to recoup contract costs

An Alberta regulator has added millions of dollars to the refund a prominent provincial utility must pay consumers after attempting to overcharge them for costs it shouldn’t have incurred — and then trying to cover up the wrongdoing. “These costs are under a cloud,” said Jim Wachowich of the watchdog group Consumers’ Coalition of Alberta. […]

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Quebec man sentenced to prison for creating AI generated, synthetic child pornography

MONTREAL — A Quebec man has been sentenced to more than three years in prison for using artificial intelligence to produce synthetic videos of child pornography. Steven Larouche, 61, of Sherbrooke, Que., pleaded guilty to creating at least seven videos with so-called deepfake technology, which is used to superimpose the face of an individual onto […]

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