Watch above: Canada’s interim privacy commissioner on The West Block with Tom Clark, discussing reports about CSEC’s spying activity.
Recent revelations of the Canadian government reportedly tracking wireless devices of travellers who used free Wi-Fi at a major Canadian airport have left a trail of questions—not least of which is, who is doing what with private information?
Coincidentally, the federal interim privacy commissioner released a report days earlier, calling for security agencies to be more accountable to Canadians for what they do with personal information.
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As she was writing that, it seems the Communications Security Establishment of Canada may have been collecting metadata from unsuspecting travellers’ cell phones.
READ MORE: CSEC tracked travellers using Wi-Fi at major Canadian airport: report
“They do need to report to Canadians. They need to provide more information, at least about the scope of their operations,” interim Privacy Commissioner Chantal Bernier said in an interview on The West Block with Tom Clark. “And we also want legislative amendments to what their mandate should be.”
READ MORE: Privacy law losing relevance, commissioner says
Like her predecessor, Bernier is drawing attention to the fact Canada’s privacy law was adopted in 1983, with few changes made since, despite tremendous advancements in technology and a complete remodelling of personal information, the ability to collect it and disseminate it.
“We need to bring privacy law into the 21st century,” Bernier said. “And that would address situations like the one being talked about now.”
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