354450827_7871bdd60d_z

One of the big concerns we hear from our community is that there’s no one in parliament that speaks Internet.

Well, here at OpenMedia, we work day in and day out to inject Internet voices into democratic processes to ensure that the government hears our ideas and addresses our concerns.

This time our own Meghan Sali has been invited to present the pro-Internet community’s concerns about the government’s new anti-privacy Bill S-4 to the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology.

Meghan will be speaking as a witness on Bill S-4, a piece of legislation the government introduced last year that could drastically invade your privacy. Ironically titled the “Digital Privacy Act,” the bill would allow your telecom company to share your private information, not just with government, but with virtually any private company.

Not worried because you have nothing to hide? Well, these companies will be allowed to share your information under the mere suspicion that you have violated the law or even violated a contract.

Any contract. That means that the dozens of Terms of Service agreements that you’ve probably signed this year alone could be used to violate your privacy. How many times have you clicked “I agree” when installing a piece of software? Personally, I’ve lost count.

This piece of legislation is particularly perncicious, as it threatens to tear a hole in the “Notice and Notice” provisions in a copyright regime that was carefully designed to protect Canadians. Because the bill would permit the voluntary disclosure of your personal information to another company, it means that your ISP would be able to hand over sensitive, personal information to copyright trolls without bending the rules — all without you even being notified.

Canadians have been speaking out against Bill S-4 ever since we learned about it last year, and this meeting will be a unique opportunity to have our voices heard and drive our point home.

Let us know what you want Meghan to tell the committee at OpenMedia.ca , or leave your thoughts on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and reddit.

The key questions we need to answer are:

  • Why is the privacy of your personal information important to you?

  • Do you believe that private companies should need to get a warrant before accessing your personal, sensitive information?

  • Do you believe you should be informed when your personal information is disclosed to private organizations without your consent?

This is your chance to help make positive change happen. Make sure to comment before March 9, 2015. We’ll pull together your input and take your voices straight to key MPs.

As long-time OpenMedia community members know, we can uphold Canadians’ privacy when we speak up together. We helped defeat Vic Toews’ legislation that would have allowed public officials access to a frightening amount of Canadians’ private information. And we’re piling on the pressure to finally put a stop to Peter MacKay’s hugely unpopular online spying Bill C-13. Now this is our chance to really help make a positive difference for Canadians.  

Remember, Meghan needs to hear from you — tell us what you think she should highlight when she meets with key MPs. And remember to let us know where you’re from!

We can have a strong impact when we speak together, so make sure to add your voice.  

Meghan_AI.png