Bill C22

Canada’s Bill C-22 and the security cost of collecting more data

Canada’s Bill C-22 risks forcing secure services to retain more metadata and build access systems. Tailscale explains why the bill should change.

Scaring People into Supporting Backdoors - Schneier on Security

Back in 1998, Tim May warned us of the “Four Horsemen of the Infocalypse”: “terrorists, pedophiles, drug dealers, and money launderers.” I tended to cast it slightly differently. This is me from 2005: Beware the Four Horsemen of the Information Apocalypse: terrorists, drug dealers, kidnappers, and child pornographers. Seems like you can scare any public into allowing the government to do anything with those four. Which particular horseman is in vogue depends on time and circumstance. Since the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the US government has been pushing the terrorist scare story. Recently, it seems to have switched to pedophiles and child exploitation. It began in September, with a long ...

Lawful-access bill could threaten encryption, deter investment, Chamber of Commerce warns

Bill would require telecoms, internet companies to change systems to give surveillance, monitoring capabilities to authorities

Why the U.S. is noticing this Canadian security bill | CBC News

A Liberal government bill that proposes giving police and spies easier access to information during investigations has fallen into the crosshairs of U.S. tech giants and two American congressional committees, threatening to become the latest irritant in the Canada-U.S. relationship.

The Lawful Access Two-Headed Surveillance Monster: How Bill C-22 Went Off the Rails - Michael Geist

The government’s plans for lawful access have gone off the rails. In recent days, Signal has warned it would pull out of the Canadian market rather than comply with Bill C-22. Windscribe, the Toronto-headquartered VPN provider, has said it would relocate its headquarters out of Canada and NordVPN has warned it would consider following suit. Apple and Meta have both raised public concerns about the bill’s effect on encryption and cybersecurity. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the Cybersecurity Advisors Network, civil liberties groups, and a long line of legal and security experts have all called for changes. The chairs of the U.S. House Judiciary and Foreign Affairs Committees have written to Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree warning that the bill threatens U.S. national security and the integrity of cross-border data flows. Even the bill’s own oversight body, the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency, has told the SECU committee it does not have the access it needs for effective oversight. If the government thought it could push through the bill largely unnoticed, it has been proven painfully wrong as there are now trade frictions with the U.S., the prospect of leading companies exiting the Canadian market, and weaker cybersecurity protections for ordinary users. How did Canada’s lawful access plan go awry so quickly?

Kiss your online privacy goodbye with Bill C-22, Canada

Civil liberties groups, legal experts and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce have been sounding the alarm for months on the privacy and cybersecurity issues contained in the Carney government’s Lawful Access Act, or Bill C-22. In a not-so-surprising twist, American lawmakers have now also added their voice to those warning about the bill.

Facing mounting backlash, Anandasangaree says U.S. tech companies are 'misinterpreting' his lawful access bill | CBC News

Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree accused U.S. tech giants of "misinterpreting" his lawful access bill, which promises to give police and spies faster access to Canadians' information during investigations, as the proposed legislation faces growing backlash south of the border.

Canada’s Metadata Retention Plan Would Make It an Outlier | Robert Diab

A comparison of metadata retention law in five eye nations

Sign on: Civil society letter against Bill C-22

This form is for signing yourself or your organisation on to the joint civil society letter against Bill C-22. Read the letter in French or in English. This letter was submitted to government on April 21, but remains open to endorsement and will be submitted to the Public Safety parliamentary Committee (tasked with reviewing Bill C-22) with a broader list of endorsements in May. The letter is closed for edits. If you have any questions or concerns, contact matt@openmedia.org.

Robert Diab

A blog about law and technology with a focus on privacy, online harms, and expression

Stop Bill C-22!

🚨 Bill C-22 forces every Canadian internet provider, messaging app & cloud service to build surveillance backdoors and store a year of your data. Foreign state hackers exploited similar legislation in the US. Shut the backdoor: https://openmedia.org/StopC22 #BillC22

Bill C-22’s Groundhog Day: Why the Government’s Dismissal of Signal, Apple and the U.S. Congress Concerns Runs Back the Disastrous Online News Act Playbook - Michael Geist

Secure messaging service Signal yesterday became the latest company to warn that Bill C-22, the lawful access bill, could force it to leave the Canadian market rather than comply with provisions it says would compromise its end-to-end encryption and create new cybersecurity risks. Signal vice-president Udbhav Tiwari told the Globe and Mail that the company “would rather pull out of the country than be compelled to compromise on the privacy promises we have made to our users.” The comments are part of a steady stream of similar warnings from Apple, Meta, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the Cybersecurity Advisors Network, and the chairs of the U.S. House Judiciary and Foreign Affairs Committees. Despite growing concern, the government’s response has been to launch a misleading social media campaign and repeatedly insist that the experts and companies are mistaken.

Government Bill (House of Commons) C-22 (45-1) - First Reading - Lawful Access Act, 2026 - Parliament of Canada

Government Bill (House of Commons) C-22 (45-1) - First Reading - Lawful Access Act, 2026 - Parliament of Canada

Apple Warns Canada's Bill C-22 Could Force Encryption Backdoors

Apple and Meta have opposed a Canadian bill that the companies say could force them to create backdoor access to encrypted user data, should it pass through the country's parliament. Proposed by Canada's ruling Liberal Party, Bill C-22 contains provisions that could be similar ​to a UK data access provision order sent to Apple last year, depending on how they are implemented.

Signal warns it would pull out of Canada if made to comply with lawful access bill

Secure messaging service says it will not weaken its encryption, privacy safeguards for government