OTTAWA – Police officers need access to personal information about Internet subscribers without getting a warrant in order to prevent child exploitation and financial crimes, RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson says.
And he says he plans on talking to the new Liberal government about how to go about getting it.
“I’m all for warrantless access to subscriber info. If I had to get a judge on the phone every time I wanted to run a license plate when I was doing my policing, there wouldn’t have been much policing getting done,” Paulson told a security conference on Wednesday.
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He later added, “We get more data off a license plate query than we would over a customer’s name and address off an IP address. I think society has got to come to ground on that.
“That’s what I really want for Christmas.”
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In June last year, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled police must have a judge’s authorization to obtain customer data linked to online activities. Paulson said this ruling has “put a chill” on starting investigations.
Paulson supports an “administrative” scheme that would give police ready access to a customer’s name and address while respecting the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police said in August this option is being considered by federal officials in response to the court’s ruling.
“We are very respectful of the Charter and people’s Charter rights, and no one is recommending that we go any further but there needs to be some sort of administrative access to basic subscriber information, like a phone book,” Paulson said.
Paulson says society has to come to terms with policing in the Internet age and police need the tools to investigate.
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“People are coming to the police and they’re saying, ‘hey I was victimized on the Internet.’ Companies are coming to us and saying ‘hey, my exclusive information was stolen through the Internet.’ Governments are coming to us and they’re saying, ‘hey these people are infiltrating our databases and violating privacy of individuals.’ It’s a serious problem, and they’re coming to the police for a just outcome,” he said.
“It’s hard to keep people safe on the internet right now. the best advice i think we can give people is either a) don’t go, which is not working, or b) if you go, be really really really careful.
“And if something bad happens to you, hopefully we’ll be able to help you, but there’s no guarantee.”
– with files from The Canadian Press
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