Search Results for: surveillance

Minding Your Business: A Critical Analysis of the Collection of De-identified Mobility Data and Its Use Under Socially Beneficial and Legitimate Business Exemptions in Canadian Privacy Law

/ Christopher Parsons

Earlier this month Amanda Cutinha and I published a report, entitled “Minding Your Business: A Critical Analysis of the Collection of De-identified Mobility Data and Its Use Under Socially Beneficial and Legitimate Business Exemptions in Canadian Privacy Law.” In it, we examine how the Government of Canada obtained and used mobility data over the course … Continue reading Minding Your Business: A Critical Analysis of the Collection of De-identified Mobility Data and Its Use Under Socially Beneficial and Legitimate Business Exemptions in Canadian Privacy Law

Canadian Government’s Pandemic Data Collection Reveals Serious Privacy, Transparency, and Accountability Deficits

/ Christopher Parsons

Just before Christmas, Swikar Oli published an article in the National Post that discussed how the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) obtained aggregated and anonymized mobility data for 33 million Canadians. From the story, we learn that the contract was awarded in March to TELUS, and that PHAC used the mobility data to “understand possible links … Continue reading Canadian Government’s Pandemic Data Collection Reveals Serious Privacy, Transparency, and Accountability Deficits

Apple’s Monitoring of Children’s Communications Content Puts Children and Adults at Risk

/ Christopher Parsons

On August 5, 2021, Apple announced that it would soon begin conducting pervasive surveillance of devices that they sell with a stated intent of expanding protections for children. The company announced three new features. The first will monitor for children sending or receiving sexually explicit images over the Messages application, the second will monitor for the … Continue reading Apple’s Monitoring of Children’s Communications Content Puts Children and Adults at Risk

Lawful Access Returns: Online Harms and Warrantless Access to Subscriber and Transmission Data

/ Christopher Parsons

For the better part of twenty years, law enforcement agencies in Canada have sought warrantless access to subscriber data that is held by telecommunications service providers and other organizations. The rationale has been that some baseline digital identifiers are needed to open investigations into alleged harms or criminal activities that have a digital nexus. Only … Continue reading Lawful Access Returns: Online Harms and Warrantless Access to Subscriber and Transmission Data