Colin Bennett

Privacy and surveillance author, researcher, teacher, advocate and policy wonk (not necessarily in that order)

[Colin Bennett @ColinBennett0]

Now on @bluesky and increasing number of posts about privacy and digital policy. Disappointed not to find the privacy commissioners over there. Network effects! @PrivacyPrivee @BCInfoPrivacy @IPCinfoprivacy

[Colin Bennett @ColinBennett0]

Yeh, that's the final straw. Just opened an account on https://t.co/0xWHJLt7h7 Hope to see you all there.

[LBC @LBC]

"If you're at work, do it now and see what happens..."

James O'Brien has a challenge for anyone that doesn't think Elon Musk performed a Nazi salute at the inauguration.

[LBC @LBC]

"If you're at work, do it now and see what happens..."

James O'Brien has a challenge for anyone that doesn't think Elon Musk performed a Nazi salute at the inauguration.

[Victoria International Privacy & Security Summit @VIPSSummit]

🎤 Pleased to announce our #VIPSS25 emcees:

Suzanne L. Morin (Sun Life) & Drew McArthur (The McArthur Consulting Group)!

Join us in Victoria, March 12-13, 2025.

Register: https://t.co/pI879uPvqu

#PrivacySummit #Cybersecurity #AITransformation

[Prof Kate Dommett @KateDommett]

Our special issue on Data Driven Campaigning has been published open access and has an incredible collection of articles from @EsmeraldaVBon @rchlgibson4 @tnridout1 @efranklinfowler @Linn_Sandberg @anamariadutceac @favstats @_sophism_ @solecheler & others!
https://t.co/19SKezBq0T

[The Hill Times @TheHillTimes]

Despite growing tensions in the House of Commons, the Liberals, Tories, and NDP filed identical arguments on Oct. 9 in an ongoing legal saga over the use of voters' personal data. #cdnpoli

https://t.co/ADDtc3EWUL

[Colin Bennett @ColinBennett0]

No BC voters are not "divided" -- the political parties are divided. And our stupid electoral system forces the parties to be adversarial and voters to choose between the lesser of two evils. If ever there was a time for PR it is now!

[The Globe and Mail @globeandmail]

B.C. voters sharply divided, facing long path to determine who will form government https://t.co/nmruPsl5o8

[Colin Bennett @ColinBennett0]

Just want to say that I missed my late colleague Norman Ruff of @uvicpoli during the #BCelection2024 Nobody on any channel IMHO equalled Norman's unparalleled knowledge and analytical abilities

[Centre for Free Expression @CFE_TMU]

Join us on Wednesday, October 30, at 7 p.m. EDT for the next Virtual Forum Series Event: Should Hate Speech Be Dealt with Through Human Rights Law? w/ Birju Dattani, @EmilyLaidlaw, @richard__moon, and @BhabhaFaisal

co-sponsors: @OpenMediaOrg @PENCanada

https://t.co/aHgihoSRFz

[OPC @PrivacyPrivee]

Statement by the Privacy Commissioner following release of committee report on the federal government’s use of technological tools capable of extracting personal data from mobile devices and computers. https://t.co/BYiLvrmI7L

[Colin Bennett @ColinBennett0]

Terrific summary by @privacylawyer of current digital bills before Parliament and those that might, won't and/or shouldn't pass before next Canadian election.

[David T.S. Fraser @privacylawyer]

An overview of the digital bills currently pending before the Canadian Parliament, at risk of falling off the order paper if the current government is defeated or prorogues Parliament. https://t.co/lSIQmxTx3K

[David T.S. Fraser @privacylawyer]

An overview of the digital bills currently pending before the Canadian Parliament, at risk of falling off the order paper if the current government is defeated or prorogues Parliament. https://t.co/lSIQmxTx3K

[Colin Bennett @ColinBennett0]

Proud to have worked on new @coe guidelines on privacy and voter authentication/ registration. Critical as more and more countries introduce biometrics into elections. https://t.co/vWGEWb27gW

[OpenMedia @OpenMediaOrg]

🚨BREAKING: new @OpenMediaOrg report reveals at LEAST 91 companies in Canada collecting & using your voter data– with almost NO oversight. #cdnpoli #privacy #dataprivacy 1/5

https://t.co/43jdr9ywVf

[Colin Bennett @ColinBennett0]

https://t.co/QulmluKLip

[Colin Bennett @ColinBennett0]

@OpenMediaOrg
https://t.co/QulmluKLip

Open letter signed by experts and organizations calls on federal political parties to drop their litigation in BC.

[The Hill Times @TheHillTimes]

B.C. voter data complainant calls out microtargeting, as parties mum on next steps after court loss. By @Campbellian_ #cdnpoli

https://t.co/iZhKkTRLbK (subs)

[Senator Colin Deacon 🇨🇦🇺🇦 @colindeacon]

A highly consequential BC court decision, more than a year in the making, just came down:

“The ability of an individual to control their personal information is intimately connected to their individual autonomy, dignity and privacy. These fundamental values lie at the heart of democracy”. This is the all-important decision of B.C. Supreme Court Justice Gordon Weatherill.

What’s its genesis? Simply, whether our federal political parties are able to gather and use your private information as they choose, and whether they should be accountable if they are responsible for a data breach. The federal Liberals, Conservatives and NDP, at this time when partisan polarization is at its worst, agree that they should not.

Last June, some of us in the Senate were troubled by this fact. It wasn’t easy to find. The very last page in the Budget 2023 Implementation Act included an amendment to the Elections Canada Act (https://t.co/NRIVD9ElBi). It sounded innocuous enough, introducing what seemed to be a reasonable amendment to the Canada Elections Act, the stated purpose being:

“…to provide for a national, uniform, exclusive and complete regime applicable to registered parties and eligible parties respecting their collection, use, disclosure, retention and disposal of personal information.”

If you are interested, have a look at my 2nd Reading speech (https://t.co/J2uhMZXcu2), Senator Scott Tannas’ Amendment (https://t.co/RXA4vEHULu), and my speech in support of that Amendment (https://t.co/XwcrJ4eU22).

At the time, I was troubled that a budget bill was being used to change the Canada Elections Act. This challenges the long-standing practice of openly debating these changes in Parliament and, arguably, set a troubling precedent. The other point of concern was that there is no national, uniform and complete privacy regime governing how federal political parties currently collect, use, disclose, retain and dispose of personal information. Much more recently, the Government has introduced Bill C-65, but it provides few protections (https://t.co/DIDfT8VUBP).

What I can’t understand is why the Liberals and NDP agreed to the amendments in C-47 and, apparently, to those in C-65? Simply, using baseball analogies, the Conservatives are in the major leagues when it comes to gathering and using personal information to target their messaging to voters. Liberals might be playing single A ball, but the NDP are very much in the minor leagues.

Regardless, Justice Weatherill captured the underlying problem:

“The rapid advancement of technological tools allowing for the harvesting of private information for the purpose of profiling and micro-targeting voters has created risks of misuse of personal information… The Parliament of Canada has not yet taken any significant action. The Legislature of the British Columbia has.”

Well done BC!! #PrivacyMatters

[EFF @EFF]

When you join EFF, not only can you get a gift to show our thanks, you also get to know you're supporting the leading nonprofit defending your rights on the internet. https://t.co/a5MQPJhJc0

[Colin Bennett @ColinBennett0]

Terrific analysis by @TeresaScassa of the recent BC Supreme Court ruling on federal political parties and privacy.
https://t.co/QgxLphFD1j