News

CIPPIC has participated in the Government of Canada’s open consultation on the operation of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA)

CIPPIC has been granted leave to intervene in Privacy Commissioner of Canada v. Aylo

CIPPIC has filed its Memorandum of Fact and Law with the Federal Court in Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC) v Sahni. CIPPIC is asking the Federal Court to expunge or rectify a copyright registration that holds out an AI system as an author under Canadian copyright law.

The Federal Court of Appeal delivered a decisive victory for Internet subscribers yesterday, shutting down Voltage Holdings’ attempt to launch a “reverse class proceeding” against hundreds of Canadians for alleged movie sharing.

The July 31 application deadline for a CIPPIC fall academic internship term (CML3316F) approaches! Fall files include copyright and AI, privacy and consent, and access to information.

CIPPIC Director Matt Malone and Canadian Cyber in Context's Alex Rudolph publish a report on authorizations that allow CSE to engage in otherwise prohibited conduct.

CIPPIC has filed its Intervener Memorandum of Fact and Law in the Federal Court of Appeal.

CIPPIC submitted an intervention on behalf of OpenMedia to advocate for enhanced transparency and fairness in Canada’s telecom market.

CIPPIC is excited to announce a renewed focus on its open government work through its new Open Information Initiative.

CIPPIC has been granted leave to intervene in the Federal Court of Appeal case Blacklock’s Reporter v. Attorney General of Canada (Docket: A-267-24). This case addresses the balance between copyright enforcement and user rights. CIPPIC's intervention will focus on the interplay between fair dealing and the anti-circumvention provisions of the Copyright Act.

In September, CIPPIC participated in the Office of the Privacy Commissioner's exploratory consultation on privacy and age assurance. The submission questions whether age assurance systems can effectively determine a user's age without breaching privacy rights. It also proposes a tool designed to assess whether an age assurance system is truly privacy preserving.

CIPPIC has filed an application in the Federal Court to expunge or rectify a copyright registration that holds out an artificial intelligence ("AI") program as an author under Canadian copyright law.

The Supreme Court has denied leave to hear the appeal in Voltage v Doe #1, a case in which CIPPIC has played a central role. The case raised questions about the burden of proof borne by copyright owners and the nature of the duties copyright’s authorization right imposes on internet subscribers.

The Federal Court of Canada has ruled that the anti-circumvention provisions of the Copyright Act do not apply to restrain fair dealing; using a validly obtained password to access content for the purposes of fair dealing is permissible.

CIPPIC has been granted leave to be added as a party before the Supreme Court in the leave to appeal of Voltage v Doe #1.

Following CIPPIC’s successful application to be added as a party in Voltage v Doe#1, SCC No, 41026, CIPPIC has now filed its responding argument on the motion for leave.

In January, CIPPIC participated in the government consultation on Copyright in the Age of Generative Artificial Intelligence. The report provides the context in which each of these issues arise under the current Canadian copyright regime and summarizes CIPPIC’s stance on the inquiries posed by the consultation.

In a 2-1 decision, the Federal Court of Appeal has affirmed a lower court decision that found that Google Search did not qualify for an exception to PIPEDA for the collection, use, or disclosure of personal information for journalistic, artistic, or literary purposes.

CIPPIC has enjoyed success in its intervention in the appeal of a denial of default judgement in a file-sharing case: Voltage Holdings LL.C. v Doe #1, 2023 FCA 194.

The Federal Court, for a second time, has denied Voltage permission to proceed in its class lawsuit for file-sharing.

CIPPIC is pleased to announce the publication of two reports today that raise concerns with Bill C-27, the federal government’s legislative proposal to reform Canada’s private sector privacy laws.

CIPPIC today released a report highlighting several additional problems with the federal government’s proposed Online News Act, which seeks to extract money from large online companies like Google and Facebook to help fund Canadian journalism.

CIPPIC has filed its Responding Memorandum of Fact and Law with the Federal Court of Appeal in Voltage v Doe.

CIPPIC's submission to the Government of Canada consultation on Copyright and Artificial Intelligence and IoT offers a set of cautious and balanced recommendations for maintaining Canada's copyright framework in the face of new technologies.

CIPPIC’s submission The Public's Domain to the government consultation on copyright term extension places the public domain at the heart of Canada’s copyright system.

In a report released today, CIPPIC documents the rapid adoption of facial recognition technologies at borders while outlining its intrusive potential and propensity for being repurposed.

CIPPIC and the Harvard Cyberlaw Clinic are excited to release a report today on the impact of the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on intermediary liability laws in North America.

CIPPIC today submitted comments to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner regarding two of its proposals for reforming PIPEDA to deal with the challenges posed by artificial intelligence.

The Federal Court of Canada has set Rogers' "reasonable costs" of compliance with a Norwich Order in Voltage's reverse class proceeding. 

How do we measure bicycle traffic in a way that respects citizens' privacy? CIPPIC's team working on a Sidewalk Labs Small Grant presented its findings today.

The CRTC rejected a proposal for a mechanism that could be used to block websites accused of copyright infringement, in a definitive victory for digital innovation and free expression in Canada.

The CRTC issued Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2013-310 today, in which it approved the merger of Canada's largest and most heavily integrated communications company (Bell) and Canada's last significant independent (and non-integrated) broadcaster (Astral).

The CRTC released Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2013-271 today, its decision in a proceeding which set out to establish a new Code to protect consumers of wireless services.

Since April of 2005, CIPPIC has been an active member of the Anti-Spyware Coalition, a coalition of consumer interest advocates anti-spyware companies working together to address the problem of controlling spyware and other potentially unwanted technologies.

Charlie Angus and Jasbit Sandhu, the NDP Ethics, Privacy and Digital Issues Spokesman and Public Safety Critic, respectively, in a letter to Minister of Public Safety Vic Toews, are calling for careful scrutiny of a legislative proposal that threatens to create a "digital panopticon" where online citizen actions can be tracked at rates unprecedented in Canada.

CIPPIC has provided comments on a draft Privacy Commissioner document intended to address emerging privacy issues such as online tracking, identity management and cloud computing.

CIPPIC critically examines the Ottawa Open Data License with a view to recommending options for improving the ability of the license to meet the needs of the user community who will benefit from the license.

In 2010, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada initiated consultations on privacy issues related to developing internet-related technologies: "Tracking, Profiling and Targeting", and "Cloud Computing".

In response to Facebook's recent attempts to meet privacy concerns on its site, CIPPIC has sent Facebook a letter informing it that the changes it proposes are not adequate to meeting requirements of Canada's Privacy legislation.

The Privacy Commissioner of Canada joined a group of data protection commissioners from across the world today in calling on Google to put in place processes to safeguard privacy rights in launches of future products.

On Tuesday, October 13, 2009, UOttawa's Centre for Law, Technology & Society will be presenting William Patry, Senior Copyright Counsel for Google.

Today, the Privacy Commissioner issued its response to CIPPIC’s privacy complaint against Bell’s use of deep packet inspection equipment for the purpose of traffic management.

CIPPIC has provided the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology with a submission with respect to its study into Canadian science and technology.

The Canadian government is expected to introduce copyright legislation modeled on the controversial American Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

CIPPIC has received a grant of $50,000 from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada to research online privacy threats.

The Canadian government passed legislation in 2005 mandating the creation of a do-not-call registry.

A number of consumer and privacy groups in the USA are calling for stronger protections against unwanted tracking of their online activities by online marketers.

The Federal Court released its decision today in the case of Philippa Lawson v. Accusearch Inc.

The Law Foundation has once again funded an articling position for CIPPIC, during the 2007-2008 year, under its Public Interest Articling Fellowships Program.

On December 19, 2005, CIPPIC filed an application for judicial review in the Federal Court of Canada challenging the Privacy Commissioner's determination that she lacks jurisdiction to investigate a US-based data-broker.

With the defeat of the Liberal government on a confidence motion, the pending business of the House - including Bill C-60, an Act to Amend the Copyright Act, and Bill C-74, the Modernization of Investigative Techniques Act, - is now history.

CIPPIC has filed a complaint under the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act against a Canadian data-broker.

The Federal Trade Commission today released a Report on peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing, concluding that the technology offers significant benefits but also poses risks.

The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission has decided to regulate voice-over-internet protocol service in the same way that it regulates other voice services, when it is provided and used as local telephone service.

On November 3, 2004, CIPPIC Associate Alex Cameron presented a brief to the Senate Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology on Bill S-9, proposed amendments to the Copyright Act that would give photographers first ownership of copyright in the photographs they take.

In June and July, 2004, CIPPIC filed complaints with the Privacy Commissioner of Canada about two U.S.-based companies, Abika.com and National Locator Services, that offer online background checks and other search services about individuals, including Canadians, for a fee.

On May 12, 2004 the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, chaired by Sarmite D. Bulte, M.P. released an interim report listing a number of recommended reforms to Canadian copyright law.

CIPPIC filed comments with the Ontario Ministry of Consumer and Business Services (MCBS) on its draft regulations under the Consumer Protection Act, 2002, as they would affect online transactions.

The Ontario government has introduced a bill governing the collection, use and disclosure of personal health information in that province.

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The federal Privacy Commissioner tabled two Annual Reports in Parliament today: one on the public sector Privacy Act and the other on the private sector Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act ("PIPEDA").

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The Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) and the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC) today asked the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Canadian Competition Bureau to investigate the business practices of Montreal-based software distributor Integrated Search Technologies and several of its business partners.

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Following on an uproar this past summer in the USA over the availability of cell phone records from online investigation services, MacLean's Magazine conducted a similar investigation in Canada.

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In a July 12th Investigation Report, the Alberta Privacy Commissioner strongly rebuked two law firms for their "lack of attention" to privacy laws in the course of advising companies on business transactions.

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