Canada-US Coalition Emerges Against Mark Carney’s Surveillance Bill

In this Blaze Media article, David Krayden reports that a cross-border coalition of Canadian civil-liberties advocates and Republican lawmakers is warning that Prime Minister Mark Carney’s proposed Bill C-22 could create sweeping privacy and encryption risks.

• The article says Bill C-22 would expand Canada’s ability to obtain electronic communications and digital evidence in criminal and national security investigations.
• Critics argue the bill could force technology companies to create access points or “back doors” into encrypted communications, weakening privacy protections for everyone.
• Supporters claim the powers are needed to investigate terrorism, organized crime, and other serious threats in an era of encrypted messaging.
• The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms delivered a petition with more than 40,000 signatures to Carney’s office opposing the bill.
• JCCF board member John Robson warned that the legislation would require service providers to gather Canadians’ electronic data and build systems to extract and hand it over to the government.
• U.S. Republican lawmakers Jim Jordan and Brian Mast warned Canada’s public safety minister that the bill could threaten the privacy of Americans as well as Canadians.
• Their concern is that if American companies are forced to redesign encrypted systems for Canadian access, the vulnerability could not realistically be limited to Canada.
• The article notes that VPN providers are already threatening to leave Canada if the bill becomes law.
• Robson argued that privacy is not a luxury but a necessity in a free society, warning that the bill targets ordinary law-abiding citizens rather than narrowly addressing criminals.

Read the full story: https://www.theblaze.com/align/canada-us-coalition-emerges-against-mark-carney-s-surveillance-bill