Episodes

  • Episode 119: Canada's Zombie Policy Proposal - Christopher Parsons on the Never-Ending Debate Over Lawful Access

    Episode 119: Canada's Zombie Policy Proposal - Christopher Parsons on the Never-Ending Debate Over Lawful Access
    Feb 28 2022

    The political and policy battles over lawful access have been going on for decades, cutting across multiple governments both Liberal and Conservative. The so-called zombie policy proposal resurfaced again last summer as then Canadian Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault included elements of lawful access within his online harms consultation. Dr. Christopher Parsons is a Senior Research Associate at the Munk School’s Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto, where his research focuses on third-party access to telecommunications data, data privacy, data security, and national security. He joins the Law Bytes podcast to talk about the history of the lawful access debate, the implications of warrantless access to subscriber data, and the recent revival of the issue.
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    42 mins
  • Episode 119: Canada's Zombie Policy Proposal - Christopher Parsons on the Never-Ending Debate Over Lawful Access

    Episode 119: Canada's Zombie Policy Proposal - Christopher Parsons on the Never-Ending Debate Over Lawful Access
    Feb 28 2022

    The political and policy battles over lawful access have been going on for decades, cutting across multiple governments both Liberal and Conservative. The so-called zombie policy proposal resurfaced again last summer as then Canadian Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault included elements of lawful access within his online harms consultation. Dr. Christopher Parsons is a Senior Research Associate at the Munk School’s Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto, where his research focuses on third-party access to telecommunications data, data privacy, data security, and national security. He joins the Law Bytes podcast to talk about the history of the lawful access debate, the implications of warrantless access to subscriber data, and the recent revival of the issue.
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    42 mins
  • Episode 201: Robert Diab on the Billion Dollar Lawsuits Launched By Ontario School Boards Against Social Media Giants

    Episode 201: Robert Diab on the Billion Dollar Lawsuits Launched By Ontario School Boards Against Social Media Giants
    Apr 29 2024
    Concerns about the impact of social media on youth have been brewing for a long time, but in recent months a new battleground has emerged: the courts, who are home to lawsuits launched by school boards seeking billions in compensation and demands that the social media giants change their products to better protect kids. Those lawsuits have now come to Canada with four Ontario school boards recently filing claims. Robert Diab is a professor of law at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia. He writes about constitutional and human rights, as well as topics in law and technology. He joins the Law Bytes podcast to provide a comparison between the Canadian and US developments, a deep dive into alleged harms and legal arguments behind the claims, and an assessment of the likelihood of success.
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    41 mins
  • Episode 200: Colin Bennett on the EU’s Surprising Adequacy Finding on Canadian Privacy Law

    Episode 200: Colin Bennett on the EU’s Surprising Adequacy Finding on Canadian Privacy Law
    Apr 22 2024
    A little over five years ago, I launched the Law Bytes podcast with an episode featuring Elizabeth Denham, then the UK’s Information and Privacy Commissioner, who provided her perspective on Canadian privacy law. I must admit that I didn’t know what the future would hold for the podcast, but I certainly did not envision reaching 200 episodes. I think it’s been a fun, entertaining, and educational ride. I’m grateful to the incredible array of guests, to Gerardo Lebron Laboy, who has been there to help produce every episode, and to the listeners who regularly provide great feedback. The podcast this week goes back to where it started with a look at Canadian privacy through the eyes of Europe. It flew under the radar screen for many, but earlier this year the EU concluded that Canada’s privacy law still provides an adequate level of protection for personal information. The decision comes as a bit of surprise to many given that Bill C-27 is currently at clause-by-clause review and there has been years of criticism that the law is outdated. To help understand the importance of the EU adequacy finding and its application to Canada, Colin Bennett, one of the world’s leading authorities on privacy and privacy governance, joins the podcast.
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    28 mins
  • Episode 199: Boris Bytensky on the Criminal Code Reforms in the Online Harms Act

    Episode 199: Boris Bytensky on the Criminal Code Reforms in the Online Harms Act
    Apr 15 2024
    The Online Harms Act – otherwise known as Bill C-63 – is really at least three bills in one. The Law Bytes podcast tackled the Internet platform portion of the bill last month in an episode with Vivek Krishnamurthy and then last week Professor Richard Moon joined to talk about the return of Section 13 of the Canada Human Rights Act. Part three may the most controversial: the inclusion of Criminal Code changes that have left even supporters of the bill uncomfortable. Boris Bytensky of the firm Bytensky Shikhman has been a leading Canadian criminal law lawyer for decades and currently serves as President of the Criminal Lawyers’ Association. He joins the podcast to discuss the bill’s Criminal Code reforms as he identifies some of the practical implications that have thus far been largely overlooked in the public debate.
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    33 mins
  • Episode 198: Richard Moon on the Return of the Section 13 Hate Speech Provision in the Online Harms Act

    Episode 198: Richard Moon on the Return of the Section 13 Hate Speech Provision in the Online Harms Act
    Apr 8 2024
    The public debate surrounding Bill C-63, the Online Harms Act, has focused primarily on Human Rights Act and Criminal Code reforms. The Human Rights Act changes include the return of Section 13 on hate speech, which was repealed by the Harper government after criticisms that it unduly chilled freedom of expression. To help understand the history of Section 13 and its latest iteration, this week Professor Richard Moon, Distinguished University Professor and Professor of Law at the University of Windsor joins the Law Bytes podcast. The Canadian Human Rights Commission asked Professor Moon to conduct a study on Section 13 in 2008 and his report is the leading source on its history and application. In this episode, we discuss that history and consider the benefits and risks of inserting it into Bill C-63.
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    41 mins
  • Episode 197: Divest, Ban or Regulate?: Anupam Chander on the Global Fight Over TikTok

    Episode 197: Divest, Ban or Regulate?: Anupam Chander on the Global Fight Over TikTok
    Mar 25 2024
    New legislation making its way through the U.S. Congress has placed a TikTok ban back on the public agenda. The bill – which would lead to either a divestiture or ban – has passed the House of Representatives and is now headed to the Senate. On the Canadian front, TikTok is already prohibited on government devices at the federal level alongside some provinces, the government has quietly conducted a national security review, and there are new calls to ban it altogether from the Canadian market. Anupam Chander is a law professor at Georgetown University and leading expert on the global regulation of new technologies. He joined the Law Bytes podcast several years ago when a TikTok ban was raised by the Trump Administration and he returns this week to discuss the latest developments and their broader implications.
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    38 mins
  • Episode 196: Vibert Jack on the Supreme Court's Landmark Bykovets Internet Privacy Ruling

    Episode 196: Vibert Jack on the Supreme Court's Landmark Bykovets Internet Privacy Ruling
    Mar 18 2024
    The federal government has struggled to update Canadian privacy laws over the past decade, leaving the Supreme Court as perhaps the leading source of privacy protection. In 2014, the court issued the Spencer decision, which affirmed a reasonable expectation of privacy in basic subscriber information and earlier this month it released the Bykovets decision, which extends the reasonable expectation of privacy to IP addresses. Vibert Jack is the litigation director of the BC Civil Liberties Association, which successfully intervened in the case. He joins the Law Bytes podcast to examine the case, including the evolution of Canadian law, the court's analysis, and the implications of Bykovets for Internet privacy in Canada.
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    32 mins