Harper's total, unmonitored, internet spy state
July 21, 2011 - 2:41pm
Harper's total, unmonitored, internet spy state.
Fascism--are we there yet?
The government wants to make providers monitor your personal info online.
By Steve Anderson,
The government has promised to push through an invasive, anti-Internet set of "Lawful Access" electronic surveillance laws within the first 100 days of Parliament
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Why should Canadians be concerned about these Internet surveillance laws?
A) It will force Internet service providers to identify anonymous customers upon request, without the need to demonstrate that there is any suspicion these customers have done anything wrong.
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C) The laws make warrantless seizure of our personal information legal so that, in the future, there will not be any means of tracking the use and abuse of these unchecked powers....
Read the rest at the Tyee, here:
http://thetyee.ca/Mediacheck/2011/07/20/NoInternetSpying/
Well I hope the Official Opposition will not be sucked into supporting another omnibus crime bill. The last time gay teenage sex was declared a crime in Canada. But since it was only one small part of the overall bill they didn't want to appear soft on crime so they threw some of our citizens under the bus.
Maybe with no election looming they can find the courage to step out of the nasty boxes Harper likes to try and shove them into.
Much to my surprise, the NDP is off to a good start on this particular issue
Much to my surprise, the NDP is off to a good start on this particular issue
They are definitely making the right noises here.
But I'll wait to see how they vote on the omnibus "crime" bill which includes this Stasi-friendly legislation.
Will the unanimous NDP "bomb Libya" vote set the pattern where they get a few totally irrelevant emendations accepted and then lock-step endorse it?
Since getting a pass by the near total pro-Harper media seem to be the dominant NDP strategy, (ie. avoiding the smear "The NDP is soft on crime"), I'll not be holding my breath.
Any ammendments that are acceptable to the NDP will basically gut the digital spying portion of the bill, and I don't think the Conservatives will accept that. Also keep in mind that unlike Libya, the NDP has committed itself to opposing the more draconian elements.
One can always live in hope.
Stopping State Surveillence
Having been postponed twice before this year’s federal election, the “lawful access” bills have continued to haunt privacy and public-interest groups concerned about the lack of related scrutiny coming from the House and mainstream media. Now, with the current session of Parliament and a majority government, the bills may be propelled into law without a much-needed examination of their scope or their general necessity.
I'd rather the NDP speak out against it, loudly and consistently, than vote against it. Their vote is meaningless. Sometimes voice can be far more important.
In a majority government situation speaking out is the only effective strategy. If they only debate in the House it will be a short lived story that hardly gets air time.
Court challenge.
Court challenge.
Court challenges program no longer exists so as long as some group has the big bucks they can take it to court. After 5 or 6 years or longer the government MIGHT be told it had breached the Charter. That is if the SCC doesn't excuse the breach like in the marijuana case and use Section 1 to justify a denial of Charter rights. In the ensuing years all our police and other agencies will get a free pass to spy on any and all who want to demonstrate their disgust with our current system. And even if it is ruled as an illegal Charter breach nothing will happen to the agencies and no one will be able to unring the bell of all the information compiled against activists. That is how our legal system works, just ask the Hospital Employees Union in BC
The prospect of some damage being done has no bearing on the likelihood that there will be a court challenge. They do happen on occasion.
I was speaking to the futility of a court challenge not whether someone might mount one. As usual you responded not to my argument but to a tangent in your own head.
So yes, you are absolutely correct in your statement it just is not related to the viewpoint I espoused.
No, I don't think it is futile at all, and that is what I was speaking to.
If they manage to get it struck down then the door will be closed and the government will not be able to get private information without a warrant after that. Seems to me that is better than letting them continue to do that in perpetuity and do nothing about it.
The complete text of the letter to Toews, signed by MP's Charlie Angus and NDP safety critic, Jasbir Sandhu is here (a pdf):
http://is.gd/B7Xjys
It's linked by this Nat Post blogger who also sees what this legislation means:
.....The so-called “lawful access” legislation would force ISPs to disclose customer information to the government — on demand and without obtaining a warrant.
This will allow law enforcement to identify individuals involved in a striking array of online activity including anonymous political opinions made in blog posts or newspaper comments, location data posted online from a smart phone, social networking activity, private online instant message or email exchanges,” wrote NDP MP Charlie Angus in a letter to Public Safety Minister Vic Toews.
It would also require ISPs to install real-time surveillance equipment on their networks, which will cost millions of dollars. But who’s going to pay for big brother to spy on us? The answer to that is not entirely clear, but taxpayers will likely be forced to shoulder some of the burden and the rest of it will fall on private businesses. Smaller ISPs could even be driven out of business, which is not a good thing in a market that is already uncompetitive.
It is not hard to see the serious speech and privacy implications of such a law (not to mention the violation of private property rights). Might as well just put a camera in every bedroom and feed it directly to the prime minister’s office. Welcome to 1984 folks. If you forget to sign the guest book, don’t worry. They know exactly who you are.
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2011/08/05/jesse-kline-in-the-new-ca...
"In the new Canada, the web browses you" indeed-- and we'll be paying the service providers a lot extra to for this exposure to this government spynet.
No, I don't think it is futile at all, and that is what I was speaking to.
Gee, hard to tell that from your pithy little statement. But whatever you say you meant is unassailable even if it is not apparent from the actual words you have written.
Given the close affinity Harper has to the RCMP elite and other police and security forces, it's hard to believe he and his circle would not use the new tools available to him for political advantage. There are no checks to, or visibility of, such behaviour. Knowledge is power.
We truly are living in a Brave New World.
What an incredible tool for blackmail that could be in the wrong hands.
So someone who disagrees with the government could be blackmailed with online investigation and exposure not just of themselves but family members associates etc. Imagine how chilling that could be.
Or if you don't want to blackmail someone you can just investigate find whatever their vulnerable spot is a ruin them.
The glare of the camera does not have to be even -- it can be at the political choice of some political staffer.
Here is one way it can be used:
When candidate information is released to the public before an election -- the government in power could perform a fishing expedition on all of the opposing parties' candidates with the objective of ruining anyone they could and the reputation of the party in the process. With a wink and a nod such access could be given just to one party. The fruits of the investigation because there is no warrant do not have to be secured and can be released to government friendly media-- and that could be done anonymously. The result would disable all opposition and make all elections nonfunctional.
Sure, the above sounds paranoid until you ask yourself where are the checks and balances that could avoid this happening. and consider the incentives.
There are reasons for requiring warrants.
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Sure, the above sounds paranoid until you ask yourself where are the checks and balances that could avoid this happening. and consider the incentives.
There are reasons for requiring warrants.
That puts it concisely, Sean.
Beyond searching for embarrassing information on opposition candidates, etc., simply tracking targeted information flow, who is communicating with whom, and about what, would give a heads up on opposition strategy, concerns and tactics. This would facilitate government preparation, covering stories and counterattacks.
The possibilities are near limitless when you can peer over anyone's shoulder you want without being seen.
monitoring your internet usage or history is the same as having 24 hour surveillance on you. I think we all agree this is bad, but let's come up with some ideas to fight back directly.
first, who is the target? to me it's the federal government and the telecom companies who are unwilling to challenge this (presumably because customers don't care)
how about clogging up the works somehow at the telecoms? mass cancellations/subscriptions a la saul alinsky? a few thousand people routinely subscribing/cancelling on a regular basis would certainly screw up their systems and is easy to do.
I don't know how you fiht back just off- we have a government that does not appreciate eithe human rights generally or the purpose of a warrant.
I started a thread over here, to discuss a blogpost I just posted. There's at least one technological project in the works that can help us fight back.
Anyway, don't want to derail this thread.
interesting radiorahim!
I looked for a thread where this has been specifically discussed but I couldn't find one. Last Sunday, August 14th, facebook began putting 15 day bans on user comments and posting links on pages. The message we see states we've broken rules that have never before been invoked in this way. No warnings at all. The only ones hit that I know of have been left wing but then I don't engage with right wing to know if they've likewise been affected.
http://alltechnews.org/internet/britain-plans-to-repress-facebook-twitte...
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2011/08/15/hey-facebook-are-you-really-cens...
http://www.cio.com/article/688100/Two_UK_Men_Jailed_for_Inciting_Violenc...
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/8321237/facebook_censors_freedo...
Open Media: videos and petition
As Parliament prepares to resume Canadians launch three online videos to let Canadians know about the government’s plan.
Proposed bill will allow authorities to access private information of any Canadian, at any time, without a warrant.
September 15, 2011 – OpenMedia.ca just launched three PSA-style videos as part of a citizen-led public education campaign to raise awareness about impending electronic surveillance laws. The Conservative government is putting the finishing touches on a set of bills that will force every phone and Internet provider to surrender Canadians’ personal information to "authorities," without a warrant. In a recent survey, 8 out of 10 Canadians were opposed to the legislation.
“Where does it end? Are we going to let authorities look at our emails, our Facebook conversations, our phone discussions?” said OpenMedia.ca Executive Director Steve Anderson today....
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Over 50,000 Canadians have already signed the Stop Online Spying petition (http://stopspying.ca) that acts a voice of opposition against the government’s invasive legislation....
http://openmedia.ca/news/canadians-fight-government-proposal-spy-private...
It all smells of privacy violation, Nazism, McCarthy era witch hunting etc..Has nothing to do with anything else…sorry don’t buy the police investigative tool..they already do that.
This isn’t a surprise as the internet is the only frontier the conservative scumbags don’t control…and believe me it does mean the end of them, cause they flourish in deceit and fraud …being exposed daily like they are on the net must make them squirm BIGTIME..so of course they are going to use anything and everything in their power to squash the truth and the proliferation of it.
No doubt the opposition will revolt but just watch and see Nazism wearing a faceless mask of conservativism being rammed down your throat .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0eQgUpkJ1Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ns8LD5Q8ecc
Cons temporarily put their Stasi-spynet legislation on hold to ease through their criminal omnibus.
It won't remain on a back burner of the Con skunkworks for long.
“This is a victory for Canadians,” says Vincent Gogolek of the BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association. “The government has been forced to listen to the 8 in 10 Canadians who are against online spying, and to the many experts - including every provincial privacy commissioner - who have pointed to the many serious problems with this radical approach. We look forward to the government finally making its case for why it wants these extraordinary powers and why we should all pay for them."
Graeme Norton of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association also spoke about the bills: “Decoupling the government’s controversial cyber-surveillance enhancements from the omnibus bill is a step in the right direction....
http://openmedia.ca/news/70000-strong-petition-sways-government-plan
Conservatives omit online spying in crime bill
By Grace Scott September 20, 2011
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]The legislation would essentially give law enforcement the ability to track people online without having to obtain a warrant. The federal NDP and Green parties, and civil liberties groups among others decried the bill as overly-invasive, dangerous and potentially costly for internet users.
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The Internet surveillance bill could still go before Parliament, but now as a separate entity from the omnibus bill -- which will be passed in the next 100 days. A spokesperson from the Department of Justice Canada responded by email to questions about future plans for the Lawful Access legislation, saying, "Our Government is committed to reintroducing these measures and further details will be announced in due course." No response was given as to why the Lawful Access legislation had been omitted from the crime act.
http://thetyee.ca/Blogs/TheHook/Federal-Politics/2011/09/20/Lawful-Acces...
http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/blogsection/0/125/