Canadians face police attack on online privacy

Privacy & Security Posted on February 19, 2012

Canadians face police attack on online privacy

Canada is close to passing a new law that allows police to access user IP addresses, names, addresses and telephone numbers, without need for a warrant or any evidence of wrongdoing.

Unlike recent headline-grabbing bills such as ACTA and SOPA, the “Protecting Children From Internet Predators Act” was not devised by the entertainment industry and copyright lawyers. This bill comes directly from the Canadian police force under the guise of helping law enforcement officials catch paedophiles and prevent online suicides.

However, the bill is facing strong opposition within Canada, as it gives the police unprecedented access to private online user data and new powers of online surveillance. Under the act ISPs must provide a “back door” to allow police to monitor user communications. Furthermore, telecommunication providers have 18 months to equip their networks with the technology to allow police to intercept communications. ISPs also have to provide user information, such as IP address, telephone number, name and address to police “quickly” - in case of an emergency - and hold on to private user data for up to 90 days.

Online privacy activists in Canada have said that the new law risks criminalising innocent internet users and puts every internet user’s privacy at risk for the sake of catching a few criminals.

Canadian internet security expert and University of Calgary professor, Tom Keenan, told CBC News that the bill is based on a culture of suspicion. “I think our police have a lot of tools and they know how to use them,” said Keenen. “This bill takes it completely out of balance putting the onus on everybody, that all of our surfing history should be preserved and that’s just not a good thing.”

Numerous law experts have also said that the Protecting Children From Internet Predators act may violate section 8 of Canada’s charter and will be challenged in the courts for being unconstitutional.

In response to criticisms of the bill, Vic Towes, Canada’s public safety minister, made the following ridiculous statement to reporters - “either you stand with us or with child pornographers”. Such a skewed mentality amongst policy makers demonstrates just how important it is to remain vigilant anytime government tries to interfere with online privacy laws.

Privacy
We invite you to discuss this post in our Reddit community or on Twitter. You can also send your feedback to blog@ivpn.net.
IVPN News

Independent security audit concluded

By Nick Pestell

IVPN News

IVPN applications are now open source

By Viktor Vecsei

Releases

Beta IVPN Linux app released

By Viktor Vecsei

IVPN TunnelCrack vulnerability assessment Privacy & Security

IVPN TunnelCrack vulnerability assessment

Posted on September 7, 2023 by IVPN Staff

Context TunnelCrack is the combination of two independent security vulnerabilities (LocalNet attack and ServerIP attack) that affect VPN applications. The research paper detailing these vulnerabilities was published and presented on 11 August 2023. IVPN apps were not tested by the researchers, and unlike other providers, we did not receive a vulnerability disclosure.
Most people don't need a commercial VPN to work from home securely Privacy & Security

Most people don't need a commercial VPN to work from home securely

Posted on April 7, 2020 by Nick Pestell

Many small businesses and their employees are concerned about the security of their data whilst working from home during the coronavirus pandemic. We see a lot of confusion surrounding this topic, even from fairly technical folk and there is unfortunately a lot of misinformation being spread by commercial VPN providers themselves.
Spotted a mistake or have an idea on how to improve this page?
Suggest an edit on GitHub.