New bill allows Police to snoop Internet connections

According to a CBC article titled "ISPs must help police snoop on Internet under new bill," the Government of Canada has proposed a new law that will allow police to spy on Internet connections without requiring a warrant. Internet service providers would not only have to provide police with information regarding subscribers but they would also have to upgrade equipment to accommodate certain levels of spying.

Justice Minister Rob Nicholson tells us, "We must ensure that law enforcement have the necessary tools to catch up to the bad guys and ultimately bring them to justice. Twenty-first century technology calls for twenty-first century tools."

Do you actually expect Canadians to believe that statement, Rob? I, for one, do not. With whom did you consult while working on this garbage? Certainly not anyone who knows anything about technology and the Internet.

Warrants are required to search private homes and are also required for telephone wire taps. Warrants should also be required for police to spy on Internet connections. Why should the electronic world be treated any differently than the physical world?

To mandate that Internet service providers install equipment that make connections easier to spy on is even more idiotic. To do this would achieve little more than increase costs to the average Internet subscriber. Any Internet fraudster or predator who has a basic understanding of the technology will easily defeat any spy-friendly equipment. It is only a matter of taking a laptop to an open wireless connection such as those often found at local coffee shops. Are we going to ensure that every coffee shop and hotel keep a log of everyone who uses their free wireless?

I have a more efficient and cheaper solution. Encourage parents to keep an eye on what any minor children are up to on the computer. It is as easy as having any computer that is on the Internet be located in a common area such as a living room and not in a child's bedroom. Given the kinds of things that can be found online, parents need to know what their kids are doing on the computer anyway.