www.efc.ca |
Electronic Frontier Canada
La Frontière Électronique du Canada |
Electronic Frontier Canada (EFC) was founded to ensure that the
principles embodied in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
remain protected as new computing, communications,
and information technologies are introduced into Canadian society.
La Frontière Électronique du Canada
a été fondée
pour garantir que les principes énoncés
dans la Charte canadienne des Droits et des Libertés
soient protégés,
lors de l'introduction dans la société canadienne
des nouvelles technologies de calcul, de communication, et d'information.
Current Issues
March 2004: Yahoo sues Canadians over spam
According to the March 11 Kitchener-Waterloo Record, Eric Daniel Head,
Matthew Head, and Barry Head are being sued by Yahoo! Inc under terms
of the US's new anti-spam legislation. Yahoo! accuses the Heads of
sending almost 100 million e-mail messages to its subscribers.
EFC's Vice-President Jeffrey Shallit appeared in interviews
on CH TV and in the Kitchener-Waterloo Record. He cautioned
that legislative solutions to spam may not be the best route to follow.
February/March 2004: EFC intervenes in CRIA suit
EFC has petitioned the court to intervene in the Canadian
Recording Industry Association's suit attempt to get
ISP's to reveal the names of net users they say are
violating copyright law. See this article in the Toronto Star.
EFC's petition was granted and is being heard in court on March 12, 2004.
Here is our court submission.
February/March 2004: CIPPIC intervenes in CRIA suit
CIPPIC, the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic at
the University of Ottawa, has intervened in the
recent CRIA suit.
See their document here.
February 2004: Paul Bryan appeals in election law case
Paul Bryan was acquitted of violating Canada's election law in a web-posting
case in October 2003. The Attorney General of Canada has appealed.
More details here.
November 2003: EFC invited appearance at Canadian Association of
Broadcasters
EFC's Vice-President Jeffrey Shallit
spoke on a panel at the invitation of
the Canadian Association of Broadcasters in November 2003.
More details to follow.
CIRA hosts June 2003 Meeting of ICANN
CIRA, the non-profit corporation that handles the Canadian .ca domain,
will be hosting a meeting of ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned
Names and Numbers) in Montreal, June 22-26, 2003. More information
is here.
National ID Card Threatens Privacy
EFC's Richard Rosenberg
testified in Vancouver on February 19 before the House Standing
Committee on Citizenship and Immigration in opposition to Bill C-18 and the creation
of a national ID card. Here are his remarks
and an unedited transcript of
the session.
The Net Routes Around Censorship
Robert Pickton, 53, is facing 15 counts of first-degree murder
in connection with the disappearances of more than 50 women
from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.
As sometimes occurs in high profile cases like this,
there is a publication ban.
As another example of "the Net" recognizing censorship as damage
and routing information around it, there is a web site
where people interested in the case can get access to
news items published outside Canada:
http://www.thememoryhole.org/crime/pickton-blackout.htm
An RCMP spokesperson in Vancouver said they are "looking at" web sites
to see if there are any breaches of the publication ban.
Justice Canada's "Lawful Access" Proposal Threatens Canadians' Privacy
Justice Canada is proposing new intrusive
powers to monitor electronic communications -- the
so-called "Lawful Access"
proposal. The Electronic Frontier Foundation and
EFC collaborated on this response to the initiative.
Privacy Commissioner Warns: Privacy Under Attack
Read Privacy Commissioner George Radwanski's
Annual Report, where he warns
that the Canadian government is rapidly eroding personal privacy in the wake of September 11.
Election Law Challenge
Paul Bryan challenged the portion of Canada's election law dealing with early
release of results. Judge Kerry Smith has
now ruled that although the law
does violate the Charter's guarantee of free expression, that violation is
justifiable in a free and democratic society.
See here
for a brief summary.
Bryan received support from EFC in this challenge.
For more information, see the ElectionResultsCanada.com
web site and the original press release
from Paul Bryan.
Legal Status of E-mail
Journalist Nancy Carter is suing her ISP after they withheld
access to her e-mail after a bill dispute. Read Nancy Carter's own summary of her
case, an EFC exclusive. For more detail, see
Carter is receiving support from EFC in this suit.
For more information about our specific aims,
please read EFC's statement of purpose.
If you support our goals, we hope you'll consider
becoming a supporting member by filling out an
EFC membership application form.
The easiest way to reach us is by email:
efc@efc.ca .
We also have more details on
how to contact us,
if you need to reach us in a hurry.
Pour plus d'informations sur nos buts spécifiques, merci de lire
la déclaration d'intention d'EFC.
Si vous soutenez nos objectifs,
nous espérons que vous envisagerez de devenir membre en remplissant une
fiche de demande d'adhésion.
La façon la plus simple de nous contacter est par e-mail:
efc@efc.ca .
Nous sommes à votre disposition pour plus de détails
sur la manière de nous contacter en cas d'urgence.
If you are interested, we have
more information about EFC,
how it is organized, how decisions get made, example EFC activities,
and how you can play a role as a supporting member.
Please feel free to browse
EFC's Archives
to learn more about some our activities
and about challenges to
your fundamental rights and freedoms in cyberspace.
Copyright © 2004 Electronic Frontier Canada, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.