unimaginative2
Senior Member
Conservative bills would force ISPs to widen police access
Justice Minister, Public Safety Minister introduce two bills that would give law enforcement much greater access to Internet communications, personal details of subscribers
Ottawa — The Canadian Press, Thursday, Jun. 18, 2009 02:26PM EDT
The Conservative government wants to give police greater powers to eavesdrop on Canadians in cyberspace.
Justice Minister Rob Nicholson and Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan introduced two bills Thursday that would give law enforcement much greater access to Internet communications and the personal details of subscribers.
The proposed legislation would: – enable police to access information on an Internet subscriber, such as name, street address and email address, without having to get a search warrant.
* force Internet service providers to freeze data on their hard drives to prevent subscribers under investigation from deleting potentially important evidence.
* require Telecom companies to invest in technology that allows for the interception of Internet communications.
* allow police to remotely activate tracking devices already embedded in cellphones and certain cars, to help with investigations.
* allow police to obtain data about where Internet communications are coming from and going to.
* make it a crime to arrange with a second person over the Internet the sexual exploitation of a child.
Nicholson, flanked at a news conference by police officers, said the changes were necessary to keep up with the changing times.
“Twenty-first century technology calls for 21st century tools for police to effectively investigate crime,†he said.
Van Loan added: “The legislation contains important tools to allow our law enforcement community and our intelligence officials to combat crime and terrorism in the face of rapidly evolving communications technologies.â€
Privacy and civil liberties advocates have raised alarms over the changes, particularly the measure to remove the obligation of police to obtain a warrant before getting personal information about a Canadian Internet user.
Some Internet service providers willingly gave over such information to police in the past, but others insisted on warrants first, which raised the ire of law enforcement officials.
The new regime would allow a select number of law enforcement officials to see the data, and would conduct regular audits on how the information is being viewed and accessed.
Justice Minister, Public Safety Minister introduce two bills that would give law enforcement much greater access to Internet communications, personal details of subscribers
Ottawa — The Canadian Press, Thursday, Jun. 18, 2009 02:26PM EDT
The Conservative government wants to give police greater powers to eavesdrop on Canadians in cyberspace.
Justice Minister Rob Nicholson and Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan introduced two bills Thursday that would give law enforcement much greater access to Internet communications and the personal details of subscribers.
The proposed legislation would: – enable police to access information on an Internet subscriber, such as name, street address and email address, without having to get a search warrant.
* force Internet service providers to freeze data on their hard drives to prevent subscribers under investigation from deleting potentially important evidence.
* require Telecom companies to invest in technology that allows for the interception of Internet communications.
* allow police to remotely activate tracking devices already embedded in cellphones and certain cars, to help with investigations.
* allow police to obtain data about where Internet communications are coming from and going to.
* make it a crime to arrange with a second person over the Internet the sexual exploitation of a child.
Nicholson, flanked at a news conference by police officers, said the changes were necessary to keep up with the changing times.
“Twenty-first century technology calls for 21st century tools for police to effectively investigate crime,†he said.
Van Loan added: “The legislation contains important tools to allow our law enforcement community and our intelligence officials to combat crime and terrorism in the face of rapidly evolving communications technologies.â€
Privacy and civil liberties advocates have raised alarms over the changes, particularly the measure to remove the obligation of police to obtain a warrant before getting personal information about a Canadian Internet user.
Some Internet service providers willingly gave over such information to police in the past, but others insisted on warrants first, which raised the ire of law enforcement officials.
The new regime would allow a select number of law enforcement officials to see the data, and would conduct regular audits on how the information is being viewed and accessed.
