Bill makes threat of 'Big Brother watching" very real, experts warn

[tuvor]

By Kristin Harold, Ottawa Business Journal Staff
Wed, Sep 6, 2006 3:00 PM EST

With Internet use skyrocketing across the country, industry experts warn individual privacy could be compromised with new legislation that will make it easier for law enforcement to snoop into our online activities.

Last month Statistics Canada reported that two-thirds of Canadians now surf the web on a regular basis and their concerns about privacy are rising as well. Industry experts say Canadians have reason to be concerned thanks to the Modernization of Investigative Techniques Act (MITA).

The act, also known as Bill C74 and Lawful Access, requires all telephone and Internet service providers (ISPs) to provide "interception capability" to assist law enforcement officials. It was first tabled by the Liberal government in November 2005 and made it through its first reading, but ended up in limbo when parliament was dissolved for the federal election.

The new Conservative government is expected to reintroduce the bill sometime this year. Industry experts are concerned about the far reaching implications it will have for Canada's privacy laws, as well as cost and manufacturing implications for the country's ISPs.

One of the major implications will be "putting the technology in place to allow for lawful access by law enforcement, which will be expensive and those costs will be passed onto the consumer," says Michael Power, partner and chief privacy officer with the Ottawa office of law firm Gowling Lafleur Henderson.

http://www.ottawabusinessjournal.com/329658445911597.php