Liberals to amend police data interception bill following searing criticism

The progressive regime says it testament amend its hot-button rule-governed get at legislation — which would make it easier for police and spies to tap private communications — as it faces blowback from critics who argue the bill would actually put cybersecurity at risk. 

Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, Bill C-22's sponsor, told reporters on Wednesday he'll propose amendments to better safeguard encryption and clarify what metadata has to be stored by tech and telecommunication companies — but remained firm the bill would become law.

"This is something that needs to happen," he said. 

Bill C-22 promises to help law enforcement and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) obtain digital information during investigations — something the security community has been pushing for since the late 1990s. 

The second half of the bill has attracted the most scathing commentary. It would force yet-to-be-defined "electronic service providers" to adapt their systems so they all have the ability to hand over information to investigators with a warrant. 

The bill would also require core providers to retain metadata — which can include information such as who is sending and receiving the data — for up to one year.

Bill C-22 gives the minister of public safety the power to issue ministerial orders on providers to, for example, retrieve data or trace a device. The intelligence commissioner, a quasi-judicial body, would have to approve the action.

While the bill does allow providers to make their case if they don't agree with the government's direction, they are prohibited from disclosing information about the order. 

Those elements have attracted attention from some of the largest tech companies in the world, the federal privacy commissioner and lawmakers south of the border.  

They all share concerns that the bill's technological demands would weaken or break encryption, a key safety measure used by activists, lawmakers, journalists and everyday Canadians to safeguard communications and other important information.  

"When you build a backdoor into an encrypted device, anyone can walk through, and because so much depends on encryption, we can't take that risk," Erik Neuenchwander, Apple's senior director of user privacy and child safety, testified before a parliamentary committee on Tuesday. 

A Google representative told the same committee that Canada's proposed legislation goes further than its allies and "could facilitate foreign interference and weaken global user privacy."

Amendments are due Wednesday night, but Anandasangaree said the government will propose changes "to ensure there's clarity on what encryption is," and better define metadata in the legislation. 

"We would ensure that that metadata piece is in line with our U.S. Counterpart's language in their bill," he said.

The minister stopped short of calling the multibillion-dollar companies that have lined up against the bill hypocritical, but questioned their commitment to privacy. 

"I think there's a number of areas of misinformation," he said.

"We're living in a world where big techs, whether it is Apple, Google or the range of other big tech companies, are operating without any type of accountability."

Lawful access bill faces pushback from tech companies, privacy advocates

Police and CSIS have gone on the record saying they are outpaced by evolving technology which they argue is putting public safety at risk.

Last year one of the country's intelligence watchdogs put out flares warning the public Canada's security organizations face "significant challenges" detecting and responding to security threats because of legislative gaps and outdated resources limiting when and how they can access private messages.

"The committee is concerned by the lawful access challenges described by the security and intelligence community and by the long-standing inability of successive governments to address them," the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) said.

"They state that encryption and the increasing volume, variety and velocity of digitally generated data make it difficult and sometimes impossible to gather the information needed to carry out effective investigations."

Successive governments have tried and failed to update Canada's lawful access regime. 

Bill C-22 is the Carney government's second attempt, after an earlier bill folded under pressure to retract what was widely considered to be overly intrusive search powers. 

The Conservatives under Stephen Harper also tried to reform access to digital evidence in 2012, which notoriously tanked after minister Vic Toews accused privacy critics of standing "with the child pornographers.”

Reporter

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