Harper government kills controversial Internet surveillance bill
Meanwhile, in Canada, the government has abandoned its equivalent of the Communications Data Bill. John Ibbitson writes in the The Globe and Mail:
The Harper government will not resurrect its controversial Internet surveillance bill, and will not introduce new legislation to monitor the activities of people on the web.
The bill, which excited outrage over possible privacy violations on the Internet, marks a legislative failure for the Harper majority government.
“We’ve listened to the concerns of Canadians,” Justice Minister Rob Nicholson told reporters outside the House of Commons on Monday.
He said that “we will not be proceeding with Bill C-30. And any attempts to modernize the criminal code will not contain …warrantless mandatory disclosure of basic subscriber information or the requirement for telecommunications service providers to build intercept capability within their systems.”
Instead, the government has carved out a sliver of the bill to ensure warrantless wiretaps during emergencies remain legal.
“We are immensely relieved,” said Chantal Bernier, the federal assistant privacy commissioner. She said the government’s reversal “is the result of the recognition of the fundamental right to privacy of Canadians, and also of their attachment to it.”
Bill C-30 caused a furor when it was introduced a year ago this week. The legislation would have permitted police and other government officials to compel Internet service providers to disclose identifying information linked to clients’ ISP addresses without a warrant.
Telecommunications companies would also have been required to collect and store data on clients’ digital activities.
