Community reaction to controversial online surveillance bill

The 'protecting children from internet predators act' was introduced Tuesday by Stephen Harper's Conservative government. (iStock)


A bill that would give police and intelligence agencies unprecedented powers to access Canadians' electronic communications and personal data, without a warrant, has sparked a firestorm of controversy.

The proposed Protecting Children from Internet Predators Act was tabled in the House of Commons Tuesday. It would require internet service providers and telecommunications companies to share customer information with authorities when requested, without court oversight.

Public Safety Minister Vic Toews says the legislation is needed to take down child pornography rings and organized crime in the 21st century.

Critics maintain that the bill will invade the privacy of ordinary, law-abiding citizens and that the need to obtain a warrant is a basic protection.

Several slammed Toews for earlier comments that accused critics of supporting child pornography.

When we polled the CBC community as to whether or not police should have access to ISP customer data without a warrant, more than 90 per cent of 9,550 respondents said 'no.'

The comments below the original story and the related poll largely echoed these sentiments.

Several expressed their concerns about breached privacy and potential abuses of the new power, and often making reference to George Orwell's classic dystopian novel 1984.

•  "We're now entering the age of Big Brother or "Big Harper" under the guise of a pedophile witch hunt. Soon the government will access your PC and mobile devices without your consent or knowledge to make sure the 99.999 per cent of us are not looking at kiddy porn. Yet again the government is chipping away at our privacy looking into our lives to better control us while we all stand by and let it happen." - Phin1525
• "Bad law.... even worse spin ... It is like trying to prevent people from carrying concealed weapons by making everyone go naked." - CDN_Realist
• "Warrantless snooping, assuming all Canadians are guilty until proven innocent, is not the kind of Canada I want to live in. I don't want to pay the millions of dollars required to pay for the infrastructure for this, nor do I want my security and privacy at risk due to poor oversight as to how this data is used or accessed." - adamyoung
• "How odd. The Conservatives felt the gun registry and the long-form census data was an invasion of privacy. Yet now they're able to access private data without permission?" - Mary Lynn M
• "Such is the conditions of a police state. Change laws so police don't have to break them, while serving our governing power." - patio888
• "George Orwell is rolling in his grave!" - FreddyRose 

Many took issue with Minister Toews' suggestion that critics of the bill are, by default, supporting child abusers.

•  "I'm all for privacy... How does that make me a supporter of child porn? Since when is it you're either with us or with them? If a cop wants to search my home, they need a warrant. How much different is it when they want to know what's sites I'm subscribed to?" - neutral_nature
• "If you don't support the government blindly, you're a criminal. If you don't accept intrusive and unwarranted surveillance, you're a criminal. If you want to hold your elected members accountable to the people, you're a criminal!
• Call your MPs, stop this bill. Warrantless access to anything is beyond ridicule. Big Brother is a big enough problem without giving him this microscope into our homes/lives. And if Toews calls me a child porn supporter for my opinion, I will have a few choice words for him as well." - Durandal
  

There were also a few supporters of the bill who made their voices heard.

•  "I would rather err on the side of protecting and preventing criminal or hostile actions against Canada and Canadians rather than the way we have dealt with this kind of activity in the past. I do believe this bill is well intended and within its scope will lessen our propensity to act on criminal activity after the crime has affected my life!" - Shizakopf
• "Let's not go off the deep end here. Everyone whines about their civil liberties being violated. The question that needs to be asked though is: if you're not doing anything wrong, what's the problem?" - ds_195
• "Vic Toews is a hero and should be appreciated as one. The majority of Canadians just don't get it or are completely ignorant. It's all these people opposed to this bill who need online surveillance." - RosslandBC
• "As times change, and technology changes, we as a people have to change to take advantage of all means available to us. This is just another tool to protect children, and to protect Canadians. Just think of how many pedophiles, criminal organizations (like the mafia), terrorists, etc will now be looking over their shoulders." - GullABull

As always, thank you for following our coverage. Feel free to comment on or challenge any of these points and continue the conversation below.

Related: Should police have access to ISP customer data without a warrant?