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Canada is one of the world's leading nations when it comes to protecting the privacy of its citizens, but this country's safeguards are slipping, says a new international survey. (CanWest) REPORT: 2007 International privacy ranking
Microsoft seeks patent for office 'spy' software Microsoft is developing Big Brother-style software capable of remotely monitoring a worker’s productivity, physical wellbeing and competence. (Times online) MORE: US patent application: Monitoring group activities 'Kill switch' dropped from Vista
Big Brother was watching Orwell LONDON - Big Brother was looking out for George Orwell (Eric Arthur Blair). Even though police were convinced that the author of Nineteen Eighty-Four was a devout Communist and a threat to the nation - because he dressed “in a bohemian fashion” - MI5 officers vetted him for vital wartime work. The security service dismissed police surveillance reports, finding Orwell’s left-wing views to be “a long way from orthodox Communism”. (Times online) RELATED: How Brussels regulates our daily lives
LONDON - Guidelines on safe alcohol consumption limits that have shaped health policy in Britain for 20 years were “plucked out of the air” as an “intelligent guess. (Times online)
TRENTON - It's a fashion that started in prison, and now the saggy pants craze has come full circle - low-slung street strutting in some cities may soon mean run-ins with the law, including a stint in jail. (AP)
PHOENIX - A criminal case against Phoenix New Times fell apart Friday amid a crush of public outrage and admissions that a special county prosecutor made serious mistakes. Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas dismissed all charges against the free weekly newspaper less than 24 hours after two New Times owners were arrested for publishing details of a grand-jury subpoena that demanded the Internet records of any person who had visited the newspaper's Web site since 2004. (Arizona Republic) RELATED: Joe Arpaio
When did opinions get outlawed? Imagine a society where people were free to express their opinions on most subjects, no matter how unpopular, and the only thing standing in their way was the sanction of open debate and public scrutiny. In other words, it would be a society where adults were treated as adults. (Sun Media)
Officials to smoke out 'abuse' CALGARY - Exposing children to second-hand smoke could expose parents to a risk assessment by a social worker, says the province's children's services minister. (Calgary Herald) PREVIOUS: Parents can be charged for exposing kids to drugs Drug Endangered Children Act Six kids seized in drug houses
Children playing on street run afoul of Ottawa bylaw OTTAWA - The children were in violation of the City of Ottawa bylaw No. 2003-530, specifically Part IX, clause 93, subsection 1, which states: "No person shall play or take part in any game or sport upon a roadway." (Ottawa Citizen) RELATED: Schools banning tag at recess to avoid lawsuits
OTTAWA - National Arts Centre employees are indignant after being asked last week to sign a document promising to reveal no supposedly confidential information about the federal institution for as long as they live. (Ottawa Citizen)
NEW YORK - In the din and clamor of issues competing for public attention, there's an inner circle of causes that virtually define good citizenship. The quasi-official gatekeeper to this pantheon is the Ad Council, which deploys more than $1 billion in donated media time and space each year for a few dozen carefully vetted, slickly produced messages. (News Week) RELATED: Wild claims about avian flu |
Reporters ordered to reveal sources OTTAWA - A federal court judge has ordered two Montreal newspaper reporters to reveal who leaked a confidential Canadian Security Intelligence Service document that accused Adil Charkaoui of being an Al Qaeda member. . (Toronto Star) MORE: Journalists must answer questions about leaded report Info commissioner urges agencies to open vaults
Privacy law's stifling effect on research VICTORIA - The chairman of an all-party legislative committee that rejected a plea to change a law that is stifling health research says he is surprised at the ill effects the law is having on scientific research. (Vancouver Sun) PREVIOUS: Privacy law freezes Health research
Quebec spells doom to 'zoom, zoom, zoom' MONTREAL - Transport Minister Julie Boulet proposed an amendment to the highway safety bill yesterday that will give the provincial auto insurance board a mandate to come up with guidelines to ban ads that depict "heedless, careless or dangerous behaviour and gestures." She said she didn't like seeing ads, for instance, that show "snowmobiles flying over the snow." (Montreal Gazette)
Privacy threats no longer 'Terra Incogtnita' MONTREAL - The privacy world gathered in Montreal for the most important global privacy conference on the calendar. International Data Protection and Privacy Commissioner's conference brings together hundreds of privacy commissioners, government regulators, business leaders, and privacy advocates who spend three days grappling with emerging issues. (PREVIOUS: Phone data law extends surveillance power No escaping Big Brother's watchful eyes and ears Technology turning citizens into spies
OTTAWA - Energy companies are refusing to share critical data with federal officials because they're afraid sensitive information will become public through the Access to Information Act, says a new study. "The private sector is not confident that information on its facilities can be protected under current ... legislation," says the report, obtained by The Canadian Press under the access law. (CP)
WASHINGTON - The CIA released hundreds of pages of internal reports Tuesday on assassination plots, secret drug testing and spying on Americans that triggered a scandal in the mid-1970s. (AP) REPORTS: CIA's family jewels 'Family Jewels' are embarrassing for CIA
FCC suggests framework for regulating violence on TV WASHINGTON - Congress could regulate violence on cable, satellite and broadcast television without violating the First Amendment, the Federal Communications Commission said in a report released Wednesday. (AP)
Several states seek to kill federal 'Real ID' requirements WASHINGTON - Risking broad penalties for their residents, lawmakers in several states are fighting implementation of the Real ID Act, a federal measure that seeks to prevent non-compliant cardholders from boarding airplanes or entering federal facilities. (Fox) RELATED: EU concern at US data transfers Taking security into their own hands The boss is watching Someone's watching you
Urban rules making for problems banking New federal legislation designed to curb money laundering and terrorism has made banking difficult for some people in Arctic Canada. Under the rigorous legislation, every account must be linked to an address with a street name. But many northern communities don't have street names. (CBC)
Daughter says her father knew he was under RCMP lens OTTAWA - The daughter of storied politician Tommy Douglas says her father would not have been surprised to learn the RCMP had compiled a hefty security file on him. Well-known actress Shirley Douglas said the dedicated socialist politician was aware of the Mounties' interest in his activities, but he didn't spend time worrying about it. (CP) PREVIOUS: RCMP spied on Tommy Douglas |
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Hong Kong, in all its money-worshipping glory, is utterly unlike the grim dictatorship George Orwell conjured up in his chilling novel "1984." Yet there is one similarity: the city's law enforcement agencies, legal experts warn, have embraced covert surveillance with the zeal of Orwell's all-seeing Thought Police. (Newsweek) |
Limits on sealing search warrants ignored HAMILTON - Prominent media lawyers say police and justice officials aren't heeding a Supreme Court of Canada ruling that set limits on how search warrants can be sealed and kept from the public. (Hamilton Spectator) RELATED: NCC study a secret | |||||
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OTTAWA - The National Post is asking the Supreme Court of Canada to hear an appeal that could define the rights of the media to protect confidential courses. The document was connected to the newspaper's ongoing reporting of what was dubbed Shawinigate, about alleged conflicts of interest by former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and public money spent in his riding. (CanWest) |
Confidential sources are essential National Post ordered to hand over document Court overturns ruling on sources Reporters do not have 'automatic right' to protect sources John Laskin Janet Simmons Eileen Gillese Chrétien receives Order of Canada |
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’Force of the state met its match' OTTAWA - An Ontario Superior Court judge has struck down a law used to obtain search warrants that authorized controversial RCMP raids on Ottawa Citizen journalist Juliet O'Neill's home and office in January, 2004. Judge Lynn Ratushny ruled yesterday parts of Section 4 of the Security of Information Act are unconstitutional because they violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. (CanWest) |
Appeals court overturns contempt ruling Appeal court overturns contempt charge MPs launch probe into RCMP's witness protection program Decision offers chance to overhaul security act Judge quashes warrants used in raid |
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TORONTO - The Ontario Human Rights Commission has decided not to proceed with complaints filed against Maclean's magazine related to its publication of an article "The future belongs to Islam." The decision means that the complaints will not be referred to a hearing before the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario. As well, Richard Warman, a former CHRC employee, is suing a number of conservative bloggers. The suit filed by Warman, names Ezra Levant, Kate McMillan, Kathy Shaidle , and Free Dominion. (Net Newsledger) |
How to turn a neo-Nazi into a free-speech martyr A day in the life of Canada's kangaroo court Landmark disaster for the CHRC Scrutinizing the human rights machine That poor woman down the street |
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Canada's human rights complainant sues again Era of thought police has arrived 'Maximum disruption' campaign of Warman Ontario spends $14.1M to improve censor Jeers and loathing at tribunal Investigator admits to using lies Kangaroo court is now in session Muslims test press freedom limits |
Time to clean-up partisan public service Defiant Levant republishes cartoons It's a human right to be an idiot Catholic magazine target of complaint Quit Validating Professional Victims Got a complaint? Call 1-800-Human-Rights |
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Ontario Commission 'groundbreaking' ruling Governments must reform Commissions The suicide of reason in Canada Canadian Press wakes up to free speech threat Canadian Human Rights Commission In defence of the Western Standard |
CIC launches human rights complaints Is abolishing Commissions necessary? Tory raise appointees' base pay to $455,000 Myths, legends and human rights Mark Steyn has a right to be wrong Censorship in the name of 'Human Rights' Western Standard sued over cartoons |
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OTTAWA - Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day announced late Thursday the federal government will not force Internet service providers to hand over customers' personal information to police without a warrant -- a move that will surprise critics who have been expressing alarm this week that the Harper government appeared poised to intrude on the civil liberties of Canadians. (Ottawa Citizen) Surveillance society keeps an eye out Word 'nuclear' wiped from record |
EU probes Google over privacy concerns Big Brother is watching you online Sacrifice civil liberties for security Cops buying cell phone records online Battle for access rages on the Hill Government pledges no ISP disclosure without warrant Government balks, opens up talks on Internet Privacy Feds push for greater access to private info |
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Wrestling sensitive information from Canadian governments can thrust journalists and other document-seekers into epic battles that rage for years. Yet despite the red tape and delays, many of the biggest news stories each year trace their roots to an access to information request. Some revelations can directly improve the health and safety of Canadians; others increase public understanding of government decisions and inspire political leaders to take action. (Globe & Mail) |
CNA 2007 Freedom of Information audit No reply for 41% of reporters' FOI requests Self-preservation overrules transparency Fighting our culture of secrecy No such thing as free speech in politics |
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Citizens offer new take on news A news agenda formulated by citizens would be radically different from that put together by journalists. That is the conclusion of a US study which compared what made the headlines in the mainstream media with that of three diverse user-driven news sources. (BBC) |
The latest news headline - your vote counts Chinese web filtering 'erratic' Software turns photos from bad to good Google modifying Canadian Street View program |
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LONDON - Former UK ambassador to Uzbekistan Craig Murray has vowed to carry on making allegations against billionaire Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov, despite attempts to silence him and his supporters. Murray's blog was deleted by its host on Friday after threats from Usmanov's UK legal team Schillings. (Register UK) Growth area for UK libel lawyers Report highlights blog censorship Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2007 Author mounts 'libel tourism' challenge |
Court gives another cash cow to lawyers Ruling is a victory for the public Court gives media new latitude Appeal court rules against Ottawa newspaper Censorship in Canada Censorship |
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MONTREAL - Police are ready to intervene if necessary to deal with hard-core smokers who defy Quebec's new anti-smoking law, a senior police official said yesterday. (Montreal Gazette) Resurgence of contraband cigarettes Smokers find refuge in secret nicotine dens Tough Anti-Smoking Laws Blanket Canada Youth smoking declines another 11% Landlords using ban to weed out smokers |
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