Government considering amendments to Bill C-22 amid backlash from tech, civil liberties groups

After significant pushback from prominent tech companies, the federal government says it will consider amendments to its controversial Bill C-22, which would give law enforcement and CSIS more tools to surveil Canadians’ online activity.

Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said on Wednesday that the federal government is considering amendments to Bill C-22, the proposed legislation that would give law enforcement backdoor access to data and expand how long companies store user metadata, including language that he said will better protect end-to-end encryption and to compensate telecom companies for changes they may be asked to implement.

The proposed amendments come after pressure campaigns from tech companies like Apple, Google, and Meta, civil liberties organizations, and the federal privacy commissioner

The proposed amendments to the bill come after pressure campaigns from tech companies like Apple, Google, and Meta, civil liberties organizations, and the federal privacy commissioner, who were among those that testified at a public safety committee meeting on the matter on Tuesday.

During that meeting, opponents outlined concerns that the legislation could weaken encryption, facilitate foreign interference, expose vulnerable privacy architecture to dismantling, and that the legislation goes further than its contemporaries in other jurisdictions.

While Anandasangaree said he is open to some changes on the bill’s language, specifically regarding encryption, he said he would not budge on stipulations requiring internet companies to retain user metadata for up to a year. That point has been contentious, with privacy commissioner Philippe Dufresne testifying that “the longer you keep information, the more there’s a risk in terms of privacy breach.”

Anandasangaree has also implied that the complaints coming from tech are hypocritical.

“We’re living in a world where big tech, whether it is Apple, Google, or the range of other big tech companies, are operating without any type of accountability, without any type of protection of privacy,” he said to reporters in Ottawa on Wednesday, according to The Globe and Mail.

While critiques of the Bill have centred on privacy, security, and government overreach, the feds have argued that increased surveillance capability is necessary to combat security threats and criminal behaviour online.

Proponents and opponents remain split, with Dufresne calling on the government to narrow the scope of what can be disclosed and those who could be compelled to provide said information. In an earlier committee meeting, law enforcement argued in favour of increasing the legislation’s scope with calls to retain metadata for even longer periods than initially proposed, claiming privacy concerns were overstated.

In the house, opposition parties like the Bloc Québécois and Conservative Party of Canada, have called for additional time to debate the bill. To date, Bill C-22 has passed its first two readings in the House of Commons. Committee members had until Wednesday afternoon to submit amendments.

Several security-focused tech companies, like Signal and No r dVPN, have stated that the Bill C-22 could trigger them to leave Canada. This week, Apple’s director for user privacy and child safety refused to speculate on whether Apple would follow suit. With the government still refusing to budge on some of the bill’s more contentious components, it is unclear if amendments will be broad enough to change the minds of opponents, businesses, and the public.

BetaKit’s Prairies reporting is funded in part by YEGAF, a not-for-profit dedicated to amplifying business stories in Alberta.

Feature photo courtesy Unsplash. Photo by Jason Hafso.