Pro-Internet group calls "Lawful Access" legislation invasive, costly, and poorly thought out

June 22, 2011 – Proposed "Lawful Access" bills would require telecom providers in Canada to hand over personal information to authorities without a warrant or judicial oversight, says OpenMedia.ca. The bills go beyond violating the civil liberties of Canadians, says OpenMedia.ca - it will also hurt their pocketbooks. Canadians will literally pay a high price for Lawful Access, as ISPs are forced to upgrade their infrastructure to allow terabytes of data to be made accessible to a range of "authorities".

OpenMedia.ca, and a group of over 30 other public interest organizations, businesses and several concerned academics have joined together to challenge the Lawful Access bills. The group of organizations is concerned by the fact that these bills are set to be fast-tracked without proper examination or debate.

The Stop Online Spying group is calling on Canadians to stop these bills in their tracks and keep the Internet open and affordable by signing the petition at http://www.StopSpying.ca

"Every single provincial privacy commissioner has spoken against this bill," says OpenMedia.ca’s Executive Director, Steve Anderson. "Law-abiding Canadians should be able to use the Internet and mobile devices without Big Telecom and government looking over their shoulders.

"These invasive surveillance bills will transform the Internet into a closed, rigid, and paranoid space."

Canadians who want to take a stand against warrantless online surveillance can sign the petition at http://www.StopSpying.ca