Michael Geist on the Conservatives: 'incredibly problematic for the Internet, privacy, and online freedoms'

Dr. Michael Geist, a law professor at the University of Ottawa and author of many articles, recently published a blog post discussing the Conservatives commitment to pass lawful access legislation. 

The post might be considered a little dry by many, as often academic and legal writing is, but it's never a bad idea to keep up to date with what Canada's political leaders are saying about the internet. Michael highlights the stances of each (both good and bad points):

All the major parties have strong and weak points on digital issues:

• the Conservatives passed anti-spam legislation, defended fair dealing reform on C-32, and pressured the CRTC on the usage based billing issue (they also failed to strike a balance on digital locks and include a digital economy strategy in their platform)
• the Liberals made a strong commitment on digital policies in their platform, were the first to focus on open government, and called for changes to the digital lock rules (they also failed to take a stand on foreign investment in telecommunications and had MP Dan McTeague openly working with CRIA on an anti-consumer copyright policy)
• the NDP were the first to draw attention to consumer issues on copyright, to commit to net neutrality, and to take a stand on UBB (they also are strong supporters of an iPod levy).

While he acknowledges that all parties have both strong and weak points (what else is new?), Michael describes the Conservatives commitment to lawful access in particular as "incredibly problematic for the Internet, privacy, and online freedoms" and that, while the issue deserves "real debate," he affirms that the move is "likely to slip under the public radar."

To delve into the dirty details of the Conservatives suggested new law, check out Michael's blog post here.