Inside Politics

Privacy Commissioner keeping a watchful eye on Wikileak'd #Trapwire alleged revelations

by Kady O'Malley Posted: August 15, 2012 3:12 PM Last Updated: August 15, 2012 3:39 PM
For those who wondered whether Canada's privacy defender in chief Jennifer Stoddart is paying attention to the latest Wikileaks-triggered controversy over the contents of hundreds of leaked emails that allegedly originated with US-based intelligence gathering firm Stratfor, and what the Toronto Star describes as the "possibly Orwellian" nature of Trapwire, the proprietary surveillance software that may or may not be in use in Canada. 

Here's what her office had to say when I asked about it:  

We have read reports stemming from Wikileaks' sharing of correspondence from the subscription-based, geopolitical analysis firm Stratfor which asserted that TrapWire technology may be at use in Canada. We however have not evaluated this technology or learned of its use within Canada outside of this report of a third-party report. Our Office however is interested in initiatives that would use such surveillance technology and impact on privacy in pursuit of greater security. As a result, we will continue following developments on this story closely.
 
Upon sizing-up such programs, we guide our analysis by asking the organization to answer the following four questions to weigh reasonable limitations on rights and freedoms in a free and democratic society:

    Is the measure demonstrably necessary to meet a specific need?
    Is it likely to be effective in meeting that need?
    Is the loss of privacy proportional to the need?
    Is there a less privacy-invasive way of achieving the same end?

Once more, our Office will continue monitoring developments and assessing information on this issue.

They've also promised to keep me informed of any "significant developments" related to this story on their end -- and you can be assured that if and when that happens, I'll keep you in the loop, too.