Bill C-22, the Lawful Access Act, would be rushed through parliamentary study with committee hearings ending before the end of May. The legislation would give Ottawa broad powers to compel technology providers to build surveillance tools into their systems. It could require spy tools to be installed across mobile devices, social media and messaging apps, cloud storage, video game platforms, smart home devices, live video camera networks, and health and fitness trackers. It would also dilute privacy protections for other digital information, including identity information behind anonymous accounts and IP addresses. The bill faces constitutional and cybersecurity criticism and raises concerns about data sharing with foreign law enforcement agencies through a controversial Canada–US CLOUD Act agreement.
"The legislation-called the Lawful Access Act-would give Ottawa broad new powers to compel technology providers to build surveillance tools into their systems. Its scope could mean requiring companies to install spy tools into mobile devices, social media and messaging apps, cloud-storage services, video game platforms, smart home devices, live video camera networks, or health and fitness trackers-to name a few examples."
"The bill would also dilute privacy protections for other digital information, like the identity information behind anonymous social media accounts or IP addresses (often referred to as subscriber information). The bill has drawn significant criticism, including on both constitutional and cybersecurity grounds."
"It is widely known that, since 2022, Canada has been negotiating, behind closed doors, a cross-border data-sharing agreement with the United States under the US Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act-or the CLOUD Act. The agreement is controversial. It would require Canada to change its laws to allow US law enforcement to directly issue demands for personal data held by Canadian technology providers."
"As outlined last year by researchers at the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab, the agreement could give US authorities like the Federal Bureau of Investigation or the Department of Homeland Security the power to carry out real-time surveillance, including wiretaps and phone hacking in Canada, or to issue demands for data that can be obtained from sources "such as cell phone tower dumps, reverse location and keyword warrants, or digital genetic databases, just to name a few exam"
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