Wyden Urges U.S. Review of Canada’s Proposed Surveillance Law
Summary
Sen. Ron Wyden says Canada’s proposed Lawful Access Act could enable secret surveillance mandates against U.S. tech companies. He urged U.S. officials to review the bill and strengthen safeguards in the U.S.-Canada CLOUD Act agreement.
Key points
- Wyden warned that the proposed Lawful Access Act could let Canadian authorities compel U.S. companies to facilitate surveillance of Americans.
- The bill would require providers to retain user metadata, such as location history, for up to a year.
- The legislation could compel providers to create backdoors or tracking capabilities and modify systems to share information with law enforcement holding a warrant.
- The bill passed Canada’s House of Commons and still requires Senate approval.
- Wyden urged U.S. officials to assess the bill and use CLOUD Act agreement negotiations to prohibit extraterritorial technical mandates.
Article Details
- Event Type
- Proposed surveillance legislation
- Impact
- Sen. Ron Wyden warned that Canada’s proposed Lawful Access Act could require providers to retain user metadata, facilitate warrant-based information sharing, and create backdoors or tracking capabilities. He said the measures could enable surveillance of Americans and weaken product security. The bill had passed Canada’s House of Commons but still required Senate approval.
People
Marco RubioU.S. secretary of state and acting national security adviser who received Wyden’s letter.Ron WydenU.S. senator who warned about the proposed Lawful Access Act and urged U.S. officials to review it and strengthen limits in the U.S.-Canada CLOUD Act agreement.Todd BlancheActing U.S. attorney general who received Wyden’s letter about the proposed legislation.Tulsi GabbardFormer director of national intelligence who told Congress that foreign requirements for U.S. companies to help create backdoors violate privacy and create severe cyber risks.