Since its introduction in April 2009 Bill C-27, the Electronic Commerce Protection Act (ECPA) has attracted significant attention from the copyright lobby. Lobbyists have been attending committee hearings and working with Liberal and Bloq MPs to forward their agenda. The ECPA is aimed at deterring the most dangerous forms of spam, such as identity theft, phishing and spyware, from occurring in Canada however the copyright lobby fears that the current wording of the Bill will hinder their questionable use of DRM and potential for electronic surveillance.
Bill C-27 would strike a serious blow to DRM by requiring consent be obtained prior to installing software on a computer.
The DRM concern arises from a requirement in the bill to obtain consent before installing software programs on users’ computers. This anti-spyware provision applies broadly, setting an appropriate standard of protection for computer users. Yet the copyright lobby fears it could inhibit installation of DRM-type software without full knowledge and consent. Sources say that the Liberals have introduced a motion that would take these practices outside of the bill. In its place, they would define computer program as, among other things, “a program that has as its primary function…inducing a user to install software by intentionally misrepresenting that installing that software is necessary to safeguard security or privacy or to open or play content of a computer program.” This sets such a high bar – primary function, intentional mispresentation – that music and software industry can plausibly argue that surreptitious DRM installations fall outside of C-27.
Even more startling are the changes to Bill C-27 being sought after by the copyright lobby which would effectively permit copyright owners to secretly access information on users’ computers.
PIPEDA currently features a series of exceptions to the standard requirements for obtaining consent for the collection of personal information (found in Section 7). Bill C-27 includes a provision that bars those exceptions in cases involving computer harvesting of email addresses and the “collection of personal information through any means of telecommunication, if the collection is made by accessing a computer system or causing a computer system to be accessed without authorization.” In other words, email harvesting and spyware would not be permitted and would not qualify for the PIPEDA exceptions found in Section 7.
The copyright lobby is deeply concerned that this change will block attempts to track possible infringement through electronic means. The Section 7(1)(b) exception in PIPEDA currently states that collecting personal information without consent or knowledge of the individual is permitted if it is reasonable to expect that the collection “would compromise the availability or accuracy of the information” and the collection is “related to investigating a breach of an agreement or a contravention of the laws of Canada.”
The committee’s “clause by clause” review of the Bill was to be conducted today however it appears that intense lobbying pressure was successful in securing an adjournment until Wednesday October 21, 2009. The Canadian Coalition for Electronic Rights urges you to use the next 48 hours and write to Industry Minister Tony Clement and other members of the committee and demand they reject changes to Bill C-27 that would support the clandestine deployment and use of DRM or changes that would leave the door open to “private surreptitious surveillance”. Other committee members include:
Tags: c-27, ecpa, Electronic Commerce Protection Act, tony clement