Canada Unveils Internet Surveillance Legislation

An anonymous reader writes "Michael Geist is reporting on his blog that the Canadian government today introduced new legislation that would require ISPs to establish new surveillance controls to monitor Internet activity. The bill will also require ISPs to disclose subscriber information without a warrant. The bill may not survive given the state of the government, but this is a sad indicator of things to come."

Comments

Re:No right to privacy

[Ctrl-Z]

I know this is off-topic, but ...

There is a similar constitutional amendment (Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms), but its language makes it very easy to circumvent (ie, it can be violated for what is seen as a good reason)

Yes, Section 1 of the Charter does describe the circumstances under which the government may pass a law contravening the rights outlined in it, but I would hardly say that it is very easy to circumvent.

Keep in mind that Canada, like many other countries, has laws forbidding hate speech. I believe it is still illegal to voice skepticism about the holocaust in Canada.

Yes, Canada does have laws against hate speech. The last time I checked, expressing skepticism about the holocaust itself was not hate speech.

Re:So the comparison is not a wiretap but phone#

[Vombatus]

Can the police get your phone number based on your name or your name based on a phone number without a warrent.

Just about anyone (even Police officers) can get a phone number for most people given a name - all without a warrant. They can normally use an initial and/or an address to narrow down the search.

The technology has existed for years. It is called the phonebook. It is even possible to access some phonebooks online - http://www.whitepages.com.au/ being one example.