Privacy

Friday November 2, 2018

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday November 2, 2018

Statistics Canada’s request for banking data of 500,000 Canadians provokes privacy investigation

June 22, 2010

Federal privacy commissioner Daniel Therrien says he is investigating Statistics Canada’s request for private banking information on 500,000 Canadians.

Therrien said Wednesday that numerous people have complained to his office about the agency’s effort to gather detailed information on transactions held by Canadian financial institutions, from cash-machine withdrawals to credit-card payments to account balances.

The formal investigation will include an examination of the requests Statistics Canada has made to businesses in multiple industries for data they collect on their customers and business partners, he said.

Canada’s chief statistician, Anil Arora, said traditional methods of gathering data aren’t good enough to measure Canada’s economy and changes in society.

February 17, 2014

“More than 75 per cent of purchases are conducted online by Canadians and Statistics Canada has to have access to these data in order to provide all Canadians with the timely and quality statistics they need in areas such as housing and debt and the impacts of transitioning to a gig economy,” Arora said.

Therrien’s last report to Parliament mentioned Statistics Canada’s growing reliance on “administrative data sources,” mainly information collected by businesses about their customers. Many of those businesses have contacted the privacy commissioner to make sure that sharing it is OK, his report said.

Therrien suggested that wherever possible, Statistics Canada should tell the companies involved to strip names and identifying information from the data before sending it over.

August 23, 2016

“To ensure transparency, we recommended StatCan let the Canadian public know how and why it is increasing its collection of data from administrative and other non-traditional sources,” the report said.

Arora said the privacy commissioner was consulted as Statistics Canada planned its pilot project on financial data, but added he has asked Therrien to take a second look.

Statistics Canada can compel businesses to supply a wide range of data.

“I understand the concerns that Canadians have and want to assure them that their personal information is carefully protected and never shared publicly,” Arora said.(Source: Hamilton Spectator) 

Link to Cartoon on TheSpec.com. 

 

Thursday April 12, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday April 12, 2018

Zuckerberg: regulation of social media firms is ‘inevitable’

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told a House oversight panel Wednesday that he believes it is “inevitable” there will be regulation of the social media industry and also disclosed to lawmakers that his own data was included in the personal information sold to malicious third parties.

March 27, 2018

“The internet is growing in importance around the world in people’s lives and I think that it is inevitable that there will need to be some regulation,” Zuckerberg said during testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee. “So my position is not that there should be no regulation but I also think that you have to be careful about regulation you put in place.”

Larger, more dominant companies like Facebook have the resources to comply with government regulation, he said, but “that might be more difficult for a smaller startup to comply with.”

Lawmakers in both parties have floated possible regulation of Facebook and other tech companies amid privacy scandals and Russian intervention on the platform. It’s not clear what that regulation would look like and Zuckerberg didn’t offer any specifics.

March 21, 2018

Zuckerberg was answering a question from Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., when he informed lawmakers about his personal data, a reference to the Cambridge Analytica scandal that has rocked his company over the past several weeks.

His remarks came as he opened the second day of a congressional inquisition in the wake of the worst privacy debacle in his company’s history. A day earlier Zuckerberg batted away often-aggressive questioning from senators who accused him of failing to protect the personal information of millions of Americans from Russians intent on upsetting the U.S. Election.

The stakes are high for both Zuckerberg and his company. Facebook has been reeling from its worst-ever privacy failure following revelations last month that the political data-mining firm Cambridge Analytica, which was affiliated with Trump’s 2016 campaign, improperly scooped up data on about 87 million users. Zuckerberg has been on an apology tour for most of the past two weeks, culminating in his congressional appearances this week.

But what comes next is unclear. (Source: Chicago Tribune) 

Published in the Hamilton Spectator

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Tuesday March 27, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday March 27, 2018

Experts call for transparency over political parties and data mining

For years, Megan Boler’s research focused on the power of social media as a democratizing force, giving voice to the voiceless and empowering everyday people to come together and participate more meaningfully in how they are governed.

March 21, 2018

But the University of Toronto social justice professor said that even in the heady days of the Arab Spring and Obama’s social media-aided ascendancy to the White House, there were slivers of concern about how the technology might be abused.

“I would have conversations with colleagues who would say things like, ‘These are the halcyon days of the internet and we’re going to look back and wish we had those days back.’”

That future appears to have arrived, as reports swirl about foreign interference in U.S. elections, the micro-targeting of social media users to sow division and mistrust and, most recently, a data-mining firm facing allegations it scraped private information from tens of millions of Facebook users’ profiles for political gain.

“It’s a very sobering moment,” Boler said.

At the heart of the most recent fallout around Cambridge Analytica, the voter-profiling firm at the heart of the Facebook controversy, is a story about the increasing sophistication and secrecy of the techniques political actors and parties have developed to harvest voters’ information in the quest for power and influence.

While some experts describe Cambridge Analytica as “a bad apple” in how it gathered its data, they say the predictive analytics the company employs are industry standard in politics.

Some experts single out political parties, saying more transparency and oversight is needed to get a better understanding of their data practices, which remain closely guarded secrets. (Source: Toronto Star) 

 

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Saturday September 17, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Saturday September 17, 2016 Conservation authority kills Webster's Falls shuttle Fierce opposition has prompted the Hamilton Conservation Authority to park a planned shuttle service to Webster's Falls on weekends and holidays, at least for this year. Chief administrative officer Chris Firth-Eagland said although the bus service can be activated with a month's notice, it's thus far had a hostile reaction, fuelling a "Scuttle This Shuttle" petition campaign. That's given the service's private partners cold feet on what staff hoped could be a solution to the traffic congestion that has plagued the popular Greensville park in recent years, he said. "They're quite concerned that the minute it doesn't work, they become then laughing stocks," Firth-Eagland told the conservation advisory board during a staff presentation on efforts to keep the park from being overrun by visitors. "We don't sense that the community wants us to do this at all," he said. "'War' has been used, that there will be war in response, and all those kinds of things. It's been very difficult for us.Ó Advisory board member Kristen Brittain, who lives in the area, said she's disappointed the shuttle won't get a trial run this year to see if it's viable or if people find ways to park in the area to avoid paying the $10 fee. "Those are outspoken people," she said of the more incendiary responses to the service, which was to run from Mizener's Antiques and Flea Market on Highway 5. "There are the quiet people that live there, too. I'm not a friend or foe (of the shuttle), but I'd be happy to at least give it a try.Ó Authority chair Robert Pasuta, councillor for the area, said he's hopeful new parking restrictions on weekends and holidays that were set to go before council for approval this week will help ease traffic tensions. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)Êhttp://www.thespec.com/news-story/6860667-conservation-authority-kills-webster-s-f

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday September 17, 2016

Conservation authority kills Webster’s Falls shuttle

Fierce opposition has prompted the Hamilton Conservation Authority to park a planned shuttle service to Webster’s Falls on weekends and holidays, at least for this year.

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator - Thursday May 12, 2016 Want to visit Webster's Falls? Be ready to pay $15 The Hamilton Conservation Authority has hiked its fees at Spencer Gorge/Webster Falls Conservation Area in an effort to curb the influx of weekend visitors. "The local environment is taking a pounding," said chief administrative officer Chris Firth-Eagland who estimates the park has seen more than 3,000 people atÊa time during a peak weekend Ñ the park's estimated capacity. He said conservative estimates suggest the park had 140,000 visitors in 2015, up from about 80,000 two years earlier. The increased human activity not onlyÊendangers a fragile ecosystem, including century old trees, "sensitive plant regimes," and bird species like the recently departed Louisiana Waterthrush, it hasÊalso created traffic and parking issues for locals. "The place is gridlocked when the leaves change colours," said Firth-Eagland.Ê As one step in the solution, said Firth-Eagland, the HCA has aligned its pricing to be similar to prominent HCA attractions like Christie Lake, Dundas Valley,ÊValens Lake and Fifty Point. As of May 21, visitors will pay a $10 parking fee and $5 per person to gain access to the Spencer Gorge/Webster Falls park. TheÊrevised fee schedule also applies to the Tew Falls parking area and site. Between May 21 and Oct. 31, HCA membership passes will not gain free admittance on weekends. In all other HCA conservation areas the membershipÊpasses will remain valid on weekends and admittance fees appear to remain unchanged. The City of Waterfalls Initiatives founder Chris Ecklund says the move by the HCA wasn't surprising. "For the waterfall initiative as a whole, the Number 1 complaint is the cost of admission to the HCA properties in general," said Ecklund. "We have peopleÊsaying they can't afford it because they're on a fixed income. "This cost is insanity.Ó (Source: Hamilton Spectator) http://www.thespec.com/news-story/65479

May 12, 2016

Chief administrative officer Chris Firth-Eagland said although the bus service can be activated with a month’s notice, it’s thus far had a hostile reaction, fuelling a “Scuttle This Shuttle” petition campaign.

That’s given the service’s private partners cold feet on what staff hoped could be a solution to the traffic congestion that has plagued the popular Greensville park in recent years, he said.

“They’re quite concerned that the minute it doesn’t work, they become then laughing stocks,” Firth-Eagland told the conservation advisory board during a staff presentation on efforts to keep the park from being overrun by visitors.

“We don’t sense that the community wants us to do this at all,” he said.

“‘War’ has been used, that there will be war in response, and all those kinds of things. It’s been very difficult for us.”

Advisory board member Kristen Brittain, who lives in the area, said she’s disappointed the shuttle won’t get a trial run this year to see if it’s viable or if people find ways to park in the area to avoid paying the $10 fee.

“Those are outspoken people,” she said of the more incendiary responses to the service, which was to run from Mizener’s Antiques and Flea Market on Highway 5.

“There are the quiet people that live there, too. I’m not a friend or foe (of the shuttle), but I’d be happy to at least give it a try.”

Authority chair Robert Pasuta, councillor for the area, said he’s hopeful new parking restrictions on weekends and holidays that were set to go before council for approval this week will help ease traffic tensions. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

 

Tuesday August 23, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Tuesday August 23, 2016 Police chiefs want new law that would compel people to reveal passwords Canada's police chiefs want a new law that would force people to hand over their electronic passwords with a judge's consent. The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police has passed a resolution calling for the legal measure to unlock digital evidence, saying criminals increasingly use encryption to hide illicit activities. There is nothing currently in Canadian law that would compel someone to provide a password to police during an investigation, RCMP Assistant Commissioner Joe Oliver told a news conference Tuesday. Oliver said criminals Ñ from child abusers to mobsters Ñ are operating online in almost complete anonymity with the help of tools that mask identities and messages, a phenomenon police call "going dark." "The victims in the digital space are real," Oliver said. "Canada's law and policing capabilities must keep pace with the evolution of technology." The chiefs' proposed password scheme is "wildly disproportionate," because in the case of a laptop computer it would mean handing over the "key to your whole personal life," said David Christopher, a spokesman for OpenMedia, a group that works to keep the Internet surveillance-free. "On the face of it, this seems like it's clearly unconstitutional." The police chiefs' resolution comes as the federal government begins a consultation on cybersecurity that will look at issues including the best way to balance online freedoms with the needs of police. The consultation runs until Oct. 15. (Source: CBC) http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/passwords-rcmp-compel-iphone-1.3723325 Canada, police, computer, passwords, privacy, justice, crime, investigation

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday August 23, 2016

Police chiefs want new law that would compel people to reveal passwords

Canada’s police chiefs want a new law that would force people to hand over their electronic passwords with a judge’s consent.

The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police has passed a resolution calling for the legal measure to unlock digital evidence, saying criminals increasingly use encryption to hide illicit activities.

There is nothing currently in Canadian law that would compel someone to provide a password to police during an investigation, RCMP Assistant Commissioner Joe Oliver told a news conference Tuesday.

Oliver said criminals — from child abusers to mobsters — are operating online in almost complete anonymity with the help of tools that mask identities and messages, a phenomenon police call “going dark.”

“The victims in the digital space are real,” Oliver said. “Canada’s law and policing capabilities must keep pace with the evolution of technology.”

The chiefs’ proposed password scheme is “wildly disproportionate,” because in the case of a laptop computer it would mean handing over the “key to your whole personal life,” said David Christopher, a spokesman for OpenMedia, a group that works to keep the Internet surveillance-free.

“On the face of it, this seems like it’s clearly unconstitutional.”

The police chiefs’ resolution comes as the federal government begins a consultation on cybersecurity that will look at issues including the best way to balance online freedoms with the needs of police. The consultation runs until Oct. 15. (Source: CBC)