Canadian Privacy Under Threat

Bad news for Canadian residents who value their privacy: this month has already seen three major Big Brother stories from that country.

First there was the report that British Columbia will begin introducing new driving licences that include facial recognition technology. According to Solicitor General John van Dongen:

The use of facial recognition technology has been reviewed for privacy implications and has been found to meet the requirements of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

He’s probably right – for now. Unfortunately such surveillance technology tends to spread. As the Economist noted back in 2003:

If and when face-recognition technology improves to the point where surreptitious cameras can routinely recognise individuals, privacy, as it has existed in the public sphere, will in effect be wiped out.

The other two big stories from Canada involve online privacy. A Superior Court in Ontario has reportedly ruled that there is no assumption of privacy on the internet and that police don’t need a warrant to ask your ISP for details of your activity. This opens the way for fishing expeditions and routine surveillance without judicial oversight.

Even if that particular judgement is overturned it won’t make much difference: the Globe and Mail reports that the Canadian government is planning legislation to allow police access to online records as a matter of course. Predictably this invasion of privacy is being justified bysaying, in effect, “Won’t somebody please think of the children”.

It sounds like Canada is catching up with the UK. Unfortunately.