Monday, December 12, 2011

Beware of "surveillance by design" symposium

The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario is organizing a symposium about "Surveillance by Design" which should be very interesting:


Upcoming Events « Privacy by Design

Beware of "Surveillance by Design" Symposium

Date January 27th, 2012

Time: 09:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Location: MaRS Discovery District, MaRS Centre South tower, Suite 100 (Auditorium – Lower Level), 101 College St., M5G 1L7 Toronto, ON, Canada

Beware of "Surveillance by Design:"

The Threat of Looming “Lawful Access” Legislation

Join Ontario's Information and Privacy Commissioner Dr. Ann Cavoukian and leading privacy, legal, and academic experts as we discuss the implications of “lawful access” legislation in Canada

Concern is mounting regarding the impact of proposed “lawful access” legislation in Canada. Media coverage has greatly increased, with this issue becoming a hot topic of discussion by all stakeholders, from the legal community to telecom providers. The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario has been instrumental in bringing attention to this upcoming legislation — which in our view, would represent a system of “surveillance by design.”

The anticipated re-introduction of a trio of federal bills (Bills C-50, C-51, C-52) will provide police with much greater ability to access and track information, via the communications technologies that we use every day, such as the Internet, smart phones, and other mobile devices, including without a warrant or oversight. Taken together, the three pieces of legislation will diminish the privacy rights of Ontarians and indeed of all Canadians.

We have an opportunity to raise awareness on this very important issue, with the goal of impacting the legislation as it is re-introduced. Please join us as we bring together diverse thought leaders to discuss the implications of these federal bills.

The event is being held to celebrate International Privacy Day, marking 31 years since the first binding international convention of privacy came into force.

We are delighted to have as guest speakers:

  • Dr. Ron Deibert, Professor, Political Science, University of Toronto
  • Nathalie Des Rosiers, General Counsel, Canadian Civil Liberties Association
  • David Fraser, Lead, McInnes Cooper Privacy Practice Group
  • John Ibbitson, Ottawa Bureau Chief, Globe and Mail

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I listened to your statements at this symposium. You are very good at raising unsubstantiated fears, and at casting aspersions on justice system participants. And I found it rather sad to hear you drag RIM and Blackberry into your facile attempts to poison what could have been a useful dialogue. All in all, a remarkably ill (and dare i say "mal" ) informed contribution by you.