Government agencies are requesting user data from telecom companies at astonishing rates, Canada’s privacy watchdog reports. In 2011 alone, nearly 1.2 million requests were made for access to customer data; however, the telecom firms refuse to disclose how many of those requests were actually granted.
Privacy experts describe the volume of requests as staggering. David Fraser, a privacy lawyer with McInnes Cooper, said he would have been surprised by 100,000 requests, underscoring how unexpected the reported totals are.
The federal privacy commissioner released the figures and highlighted that, while telecom companies maintain detailed internal records of government requests for user data, they do not publish these records for public scrutiny.
Only three of the nine major carriers answered the commissioner’s inquiry about how often they complied with government demands for customer information. Late-2011 figures from those three carriers alone show at least 787,756 requests were complied with — a number that likely understates the true national total.
Recent reporting by a Halifax newspaper revealed that the Canada Border Services Agency accessed telecom customer data nearly 19,000 times in a single year, and in more than 99% of those cases no warrant was used.
When the commissioner’s office asked telecoms whether they would consider releasing details about government requests, the companies responded with a simple “no.” “We have tried, many times. We have sought out information from the telecoms to find out, and they’ve given us very general comments,” said Chantal Bernier, the interim privacy commissioner.
Bernier said the commissioner’s office would like there to be statutory provisions establishing a clear legal framework so Canadians know the extent of warrantless access to their data.
At present, customers generally are not informed when their information is turned over to authorities. Large amounts of personal data are being exchanged without the knowledge of subscribers. That raises the question: do customers have any meaningful choice?
Michael Geist, a prominent Canadian internet privacy scholar, put the situation bluntly: “What choice do you have, other than simply going off-line? The reality is your data is out there, it’s obviously being collected, and it can be used and disclosed many times without any kind of oversight.”
The privacy commissioner’s office has also received 170 complaints alleging that Bell collects and uses customers’ personal information to target online advertising. The office is investigating Bell’s privacy practices and expects to issue a finding by the end of the year.
Should telecom providers publish information about government requests for user data? Share your thoughts in the comments.