The federal government’s proposed lawful access legislation will be amended to “clarify” protections for encrypted data and types of metadata that may be retained and accessed by law enforcement, Canada’s public safety minister said Wednesday.
Gary Anandasangaree defended Bill C-22 as necessary for investigators as the legislation faces growing privacy concerns and pushback from major internet service providers and tech companies, including Apple and Google, who have called for amendments to clarify and reign in what they called “boundless” powers.
Those companies have said the bill as written could see the government force them to break end-to-end encryption to allow law enforcement access to customer data, something they have promised to never do as it would violate their privacy policies.
“To be very clear, the encryption issue is one we will clarify, because this bill was never meant to breach encryption,” Anandasangaree told reporters outside the House of Commons.
He said amendments will also “clarify what metadata is” that could be retained for up to a year in future regulations under the legislation.
Yet he defended the year-long timeline as “reasonable” and in line with allies like Australia, despite widespread concerns from privacy experts who note some allies like the U.S. do not have similar retention laws.
“As this goes through the Parliamentary process, we look forward to working in a collaborative manner to ensure that we listen and respond to some of the concerns that have been expressed,” he said.
“So whether that’s on encryption, whether it’s on ensuring that our laws are in line with our Five Eyes partners — including the U.S. — we will respond in kind and ensure that the bill is strengthened.”
Yet the minister also criticized Apple, Google and other critics of the bill for spreading “misinformation” about the government’s intentions and not being transparent about their own privacy commitments.
“We’re living in a world where Big Tech — whether it is Apple, Google, or the range of other Big Tech companies — are operating without any type of accountability, without any kind of protection of privacy,” he said.
Get breaking National news
“So the companies that are coming forth and talking about privacy, talking about privacy protection, talking about vulnerabilities, better step up and provide their path to how they’re protecting the privacy rights of Canadians.”
Anandasangaree added that tech companies have “refused to essentially cooperate in this process” by helping to give law enforcement what they need through “better collaboration.”
“What we are looking for right now with lawful access are modest measures that every other Five Eyes country has, and we’re just trying to keep up,” he said, “and misinformation doesn’t help us advance what I think should be a very important debate.
“It is not a matter of (whether) this is an optional bill. This is something that needs to happen.”
Tech companies have said they support the first part of the bill, which allows law enforcement to access basic data like subscriber information from telecommunications providers through a judicial warrant for the purposes of an investigation.
Where concerns have arisen is with the second part, which would create regulations that require “core” providers to establish access points for investigators to comb through retained metadata — including location and transmission data — that must be retained for periods of time up to a year.
The minister would then be able to order other providers to adhere to those regulations without sign-off from a judge.
Investigators would only be allowed to access the data with a judicial warrant under the legislation as written, and companies can refuse to follow a regulation if it would create a “systemic vulnerability” in their systems.
Tech companies say the definition of a systemic vulnerability is overly broad in the current version of the bill, and does not adequately make clear that encryption would be protected.
Anandasangaree has previously refused to commit to specific amendments that specify encryption protections, including when he was asked directly this month at the House of Commons public safety committee, which is studying the bill.
The minister said Wednesday he hopes the bill will be amended and passed by the House of Commons and the Senate before Parliament breaks for the summer.
Ford can’t show his phone but we all must.
Backdoor access is already there for Americans.
Our platforms are American.
This is double plus good comrades
DUNCE CAP WITH PROPELLER PLEASE !!!
TELL THIS CL O WN, TO SPIT OUT ALL the WALNUTS BEFORE TALKING
Thos guy is connected to a terrorist organisation in India and is here telling us how to live. First he told Canadians to surrender their guns, now he’s trying to let his connections single you out when you disagree with the government online. This is organised crime against Canadians. Meanwhile his people extort law-abiding citizens, shoot up homes, steal your cars and modify the registration right at the DMV to ship them overseas out of our own ports.
Fa Cough and get out of our lives LPC
Who does apple and the rest think they are fooling…. backdoors already exist for NSA.
This is all just a bunch of theatre put on by the government and corporations.
The dumbest Liberal on Parliament Hill
He should have been given a dunce cap not a portfolio.
@try this Just as the gun grab in not meant to deter criminals but is to target law abiding Canadians, so the Bill C-22 is meant to target everyday Canadians Not criminals. It is all about intimidation of the populous into no dissent against the government. That is totalitarianism and what we see in China under the CCP. “ Inside every progressive is a totalitarian screaming to get out.” David Horowitz, and they don’t come any more progressive than Carney and the Liberals.
The law for communication has been on the books for a long time. This is just a grab by the Liberals. We will not comply. This is against our charter of rights and freedoms.
If necessary, we will go to external hosts, encrypting everything so there is no access by anyone. that will include anything with a warrant.
If the courts do not strike this down, it will get ignored anyway.
If Ford can hide his communications, even with the freedom of information act, and the concept that government needs to be open and above board, dos this twit actually think criminals and terrorists will follow the illegal access law?
Agreed with Anonymous…all true
Bill C-22 is a trojan horse bill that will force providers to create back door access, without ANY oversight by the courts, no warrant, to give access to our information to police and others. There is also the possibility that providers can be forced to turn on camera’s and microphones on our devices to enable spying on us. That is just the start. Once they have this normalized it will be expanded and with that goes our Charter Rights and Freedoms. Totalitarianism 101 !!!