Bowden v. Kirkland & Ellis, 2011 WL 1211555 (7th Cir. April 1, 2011) Two former employees of a law firm sued the firm for violation of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 USC 2510 et seq. and for violation of the Illinois Eavesdropping Act, 720 ILCS 5/14-2. The district court granted summary judgment in favor [...]
Lewton v. Divingnzzo, 2011 WL 692292 (D.Neb. Feb. 18, 2011) Defendant thought her ex-husband was abusing their daughter during visitations. To prove these allegations in the custody case, defendant sewed an electronic recording device into the little girl’s favorite teddy bear. After the daughter returned from visiting with her father, the mom would unstitch the [...]
Court declines to recognize secondary liability for civil ECPA violation, holding that defendant’s divorce lawyer could not be a conspirator in a civil action alleging email interception. Garback v. Lossing, 2010 WL 3733971 (E.D.Mich. September 20, 2010) Plaintiff sued his ex-wife’s attorney for violation of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. He claimed that his ex-wife, [...]
McCann v. Iroquois Memorial Hospital, No. 08-3420 (7th Cir. September 13, 2010) Mystery of how doctor’s dictation machine got turned on to record conversation between doctor and hospital employee is a question for the jury and should not have been decided on summary judgment. Two hospital employees — Dr. Lindberg and the director of physician [...]
Zinna v. Cook, No. 06-1733, 2010 WL 3604386 (D. Colo. September 7, 2010) Plaintiff sued for violation of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) claiming that defendants intercepted his email messages and posted them to a website called ColoradoWackoExposed.com. Defendants moved for summary judgment. The court granted the motion. It found that although similarities between [...]
U.S. v. Szymuszkiewicz, — F.3d —, 2010 WL 3503506 (7th Cir. September 9, 2010) Seventh Circuit upholds conviction of employee who secretly intercepted his boss’s email. A federal jury convicted the defendant, who was an IRS revenue officer, of violating the Wiretap Act (or the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, as some like to call it [...]
The government today introduced Bill C-28, the Fighting Internet and Wireless Spam Act. The bill carries a new name from the old Bill C-27 (which was titled the Electronic Commerce Protection Act), but the bill is roughly the same as the bill that passed the House of Commons last year. That bill was subject to considerable change based on compromises from all parties. The resulting bill was not as strong as first introduced, but it did garner the support of all four political parties and most observers. The new bill contains some modest changes involving privacy, but most of the core provisions remain unchanged. It deserves broad support and should be placed on the fast track given that it was effectively the subject of extensive hearings from the Industry Committee. For more on the original bill, see here, here, here, and here. A transcript of my appearance before the Industry Committee can be found here.
The government has placed two bills on the notice paper for introduction next week: the Electronic Commerce Protection Act (which is the re-introduction of the anti-spam bill that died with prorogation) and amendements to PIPEDA (which should be a data breach notification requirement bill).
Parliament resumes this week with the Speech from the Throne today following the unexpected – and unexpectedly contentious – decision by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to reset the legislative agenda through prorogation. The House of Commons may have been quiet but my weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes the calls for a national digital strategy have grown louder in recent months. Last week, the International Telecommunications Union issued its annual global measurement of the information society, which served again to highlight Canada’s sinking global technology ranking. Canada ranked 21st (down from 18th in 2007) in its ICT Development Index, which groups 11 indices including access, use, and technology skills.
Canada’s sliding global ranking reflects 10 years of policy neglect. Other countries prioritized digital issues while leaders here from all parties have been content to rest on the laurels of the late 1990s, only to wake up to a new, less-competitive reality in 2010.
Industry Minister Tony Clement has spoken frequently about the need for a national digital strategy, but concrete policies have been slow in coming. The parliamentary restart presents another opportunity for action. Given the failure to date to articulate a comprehensive digital strategy, perhaps a different approach might work. Following the Speech from the Throne and the budget, there will be about 100 days until the summer break. Clement could set a series of realizable targets during those 100 days. Such targets would not solve ongoing concerns regarding the competitiveness of Canada’s wireless sector or the findings that Canadians pay higher prices for slower Internet speeds than consumers in many other countries, but some momentum could be gained and some quick wins achieved.
A 100-day digital agenda could have four components: new laws, new initiatives, new enforcement, and new policy development.
On the legislative front, Clement should reintroduce the Electronic Commerce Protection Act, the anti-spam bill that passed through the House of Commons and was to have been the subject of Senate hearings earlier this year. Having received all-party support and extensive study, the legislation should be placed on a rocket docket with a commitment to passing the bill before the summer recess.
Two other long-awaited bills should be part of the short-term digital strategy. With the national copyright consultation complete, a digital copyright bill consistent with Clement’s commitment to a forward-looking, technology neutral approach should be introduced within the next 100 days. So, too, should a privacy reform bill, which Clement identified as a priority at the start of 2010.
Beyond new legislation, government can use the next 100 days to lead by example. A new data.gc.ca website with open government datasets like those found in the U.S. and U.K. should be easy to achieve. The government also could follow the Australian approach to solve the crown copyright problem that restricts use of government documents by adopting open licences that grant permission to use documents without formal approval (or the need for a new law).
The government can use the next 100 days to step up its digital enforcement agenda. This includes ensuring Internet providers are compliant with net neutrality requirements and that telemarketers abide by do-not-call legislation.
Finally, longer-term digital agenda issues must be put on the policy front burner. These include discussions on spectrum allocation, digital television transition, removal of Canadian control requirements in the telecom sector, and new media issues.
None of these initiatives will mark an immediate resurgence in Canada’s digital ranking. But after years of missteps, perhaps some baby steps now would put the nation’s digital agenda back on track.
The Globe ran a story over the weekend that estimated the cost of proroguing on Bill C-27, the anti-spam bill. It points to the hours spent debating the bill and the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent working toward its introduction.