Alarming
This item seems to have gone under the radar the last few days, with all the news about our beefed-up military spending and our 17 "homegrown" terror boys.
Sympatico, a major Canadian ISP, recently notified its customers that Big Brother is watching their internet activity. This was done in anticipation that the feds will re-introduce the "Modernization of Investigative Techniques Act" (originally introduced last November, shortly before the non-confidence vote brought down the Liberal government.) The bill would allow police to have "unfettered" (read: "warrantless") access to personal information such as internet activity.
I wouldn't let the police search my house without a warrant; in the interest of my rights as a citizen, it's critical that their evidence be independently sanctioned first. Telecommunications shouldn't be any different. I find this disturbing in a slippery-slope kind of way. The fact that it hasn't gotten much public reaction worries me: Canadians may be falling prey to a climate of fear that could initiate similar government intrusion and losses of privacy rights as they're experiencing south of the border. I don't much trust a government that emulates the Bush administration to the extent of Harper's Conservatives. We Canadians had better snap out of our stupors and get ready: if this is the kind of thing they're doing when they have a minority government, wait til they get a majority.
Friday, June 30, 2006
|