Privacylawyer - Canadian privacy and technology law with David Fraser

David Fraser

Award-winning info about Canadian privacy and tech law from Canadian privacy lawyer David Fraser. Seriously, I won a Canadian Law Blog Award (Clawbie!) in 2023 for the YouTube version of this channel.

  1. Apr 19

    The Deeply Problematic Part 2 of Bill C-22: The Supporting Authorized Access to Information Act.

    An Overview of Part 2 of Bill C-22, the Lawful Access Act 2026. Part 2 creates the "Supporting Authorized Access to Information Act", which will require electronic service providers to create new capabilities for law enforcement and national security folks to get access to customer information. #lawfulaccess #surveillance #privacy #charterofrights Where you can find me ► Privacylawyer blog: https://blog.privacylawyer.ca ► My law firm: https://www.mcinnescooper.com/people/david-fraser ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/privacylawyer ► LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidtsfraser Disclaimer: This is intended for education and information only and should not be taken as legal advice. If you need advice for your particular situation, you should seek out qualified counsel. All views expressed are solely those of the creator and should not be attributed to his firm or any of its clients.

    20 min

  2. Apr 12

    The new ”Production Order for Subscriber Information” in Bill C-22, the Lawful Access Act 2026

    A deep dive into the "Production Order for Subscriber Information" proposed in Bill C-22, the Lawful Access Act. What is it? What does it do? What is different from the original proposal in Bill C-2 (the Strong Borders Act)? And what's the likely fatal flaw that will mean it will be found to be unconstitutional? My "Lawful Access" playlist, including episodes from this channel and other commentators: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLV759uJFOchhpCq8rakXDYdwJP3xYSrtf Where you can find me ► Privacylawyer blog: https://blog.privacylawyer.ca ► My law firm: https://www.mcinnescooper.com/people/david-fraser ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/privacylawyer ► LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidtsfraser Disclaimer: This is intended for education and information only and should not be taken as legal advice. If you need advice for your particular situation, you should seek out qualified counsel. All views expressed are solely those of the creator and should not be attributed to his firm or any of its clients.

    12 min

  3. Apr 5

    A close look at ”Confirmation of service demands” in Bill C-22, Lawful Access Act 2026

    Lawful Access playlist, including my videos and from others on the topic: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLV759uJFOchhpCq8rakXDYdwJP3xYSrtf My Bill C-22 Lawful Access "deep dive" episode: https://youtu.be/tZFbTYttuN8?list=PLV759uJFOchhpCq8rakXDYdwJP3xYSrtf Where you can find me ► Privacylawyer blog: https://blog.privacylawyer.ca ► My law firm: https://www.mcinnescooper.com/people/david-fraser ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/privacylawyer ► LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidtsfraser Disclaimer: This is intended for education and information only and should not be taken as legal advice. If you need advice for your particular situation, you should seek out qualified counsel. All views expressed are solely those of the creator and should not be attributed to his firm or any of its clients.

    10 min

  4. Mar 15

    Lawful Access is back: All about Bill C-22 (Spoiler alert: Part 2 is very troubling.)

    On March 12, 2026, the Canadian Public Safety Minister tabled Bill C-22 in Parliament: the Lawful Access Act, 2026, which will create new police information demands and require "electronic service providers" to create new capabilities for the interception and retrieval of data for the police and national security authorities. Part 1 is much improved since it was first introduced as Part 14 of the "Strong Borders Act." Part 2, however, is deeply problematic as it has the potential to create a expansive surveillance infrastructure -- mostly in the shadows -- beyond what I think Canadians can tolerate. Where you can find me ► Privacylawyer blog: https://blog.privacylawyer.ca ► My law firm: https://www.mcinnescooper.com/people/david-fraser ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/privacylawyer ► LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidtsfraser Disclaimer: This is intended for education and information only and should not be taken as legal advice. If you need advice for your particular situation, you should seek out qualified counsel. All views expressed are solely those of the creator and should not be attributed to his firm or any of its clients.

    41 min

  5. Mar 3

    PIPEDA: Canadian Privacy Law 101 - a primer on the privacy law that regulates businesses in Canada

    An overview of privacy law that regulates private sector businesses in Canada (or those outside of the country who deal with personal information of Canadians): the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). 0:00 Beginning 0:57 Introduction 2:23 Why Canada has a mess of privacy laws 5:43 The Canadian Standards Association Model Code for the protection of personal information 6:40 How was the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) developed? 8:11 Key concepts - "commercial activity" 9:02 Key concepts - "personal information" 10:53 PIPEDA's baseline "reasonableness" requirement at s. 5(3) 12:16 Principle 1 - Accountability 16:09 Principle 2 - Identifying purposes 16:47 Principle 3 - Consent 20:13 Principle 4 - Limiting collection 20:58 Principle 5 - Limiting use, disclosure and retention 22:08 Principle 6 - Accuracy 22:47 Principle 7 - Safeguards 24:23 Principle 8 - Openness 25:49 Principle 9 - Individual access 26:58 Principle 10 - Challenging compliance 27:40 Enforcement under PIPEDA 31:22 Court applications under PIPEDA 34:16 Data breach notification 37:38 Real risk of significant harm (RROSH) analysis 40:25 Data breach record-keeping requirements 41:36 Wrap-up Where you can find me ► Privacylawyer blog: https://blog.privacylawyer.ca ► My law firm: https://www.mcinnescooper.com/people/david-fraser ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/privacylawyer ► LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidtsfraser Disclaimer: This is intended for education and information only and should not be taken as legal advice. If you need advice for your particular situation, you should seek out qualified counsel. All views expressed are solely those of the creator and should not be attributed to his firm or any of its clients.

    43 min

  6. Feb 2

    Privacy, Online Fraud, and What You Can Do About It

    Online fraud is a widespread, everyday risk that affects individuals, families, businesses, and public institutions. Drawing on real-world examples from my privacy law practice, I walk through how common scams work, from email account compromises and funds-transfer fraud to tech-support scams, ransomware, and “grandparent” scams (increasingly powered by AI). I also focus on practical, concrete steps that individuals can take to reduce their risk. There’s no such thing as perfect security, but understanding how scammers exploit urgency, trust, and information asymmetry can make a real difference. This episode is based on a presentation I was invited to give on Data Privacy Day for a client's employees. 0:00 Introduction 0:53 What is privacy and why does it matter? 6:13 Common frauds I'm seeing 12:19 So what can you do to protect yourself? 16:07 Wrap-up Where you can find me ► Privacylawyer blog: https://blog.privacylawyer.ca ► My law firm: https://www.mcinnescooper.com/people/david-fraser ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/privacylawyer ► LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidtsfraser Disclaimer: This is intended for education and information only and should not be taken as legal advice. If you need advice for your particular situation, you should seek out qualified counsel. All views expressed are solely those of the creator and should not be attributed to his firm or any of its clients.

    18 min

  7. Jan 18

    BC Privacy Commissioner finds city’s use of public surveillance cameras unlawful ... off to court

    In this episode, I examine a recent Report of Findings and Order issued by British Columbia’s Information and Privacy Commissioner concerning the City of Richmond’s “Public Safety Camera System” field test. The City installed high-resolution intersection cameras intended to provide footage to police to help identify criminal suspects. The Commissioner concluded that the City lacked lawful authority under BC’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act to collect this personal information, failed to meet statutory notice requirements, and could not rely on planning or law-enforcement exceptions to justify the program. Because the City declined to follow the Commissioner’s recommendations, a binding order was issued requiring the City to stop collection, delete the footage, and dismantle the system. The OIPC-BC finding can be found here (PDF): https://www.oipc.bc.ca/documents/orders/3071 Where you can find me ► Privacylawyer blog: https://blog.privacylawyer.ca ► My law firm: https://www.mcinnescooper.com/people/david-fraser ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/privacylawyer ► LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidtsfraser Disclaimer: This is intended for education and information only and should not be taken as legal advice. If you need advice for your particular situation, you should seek out qualified counsel. All views expressed are solely those of the creator and should not be attributed to his firm or any of its clients.

    13 min

  8. Jan 11

    Canada’s new proposed law to outlaw explicit deepfakes: Bill C-16

    This episode of PrivacyLawyer examines proposed amendments to the Criminal Code of Canada in Bill C-16, the Protecting Victims Act, which would expand the definition of “intimate image” to include certain AI-generated and deepfake images. The episode explains how the existing offence for the non-consensual distribution of intimate images was designed around real photographs and video recordings, and why that definition has struggled to keep pace with the rapid growth of synthetic and generative imagery. I walk through the current legal framework, including recent provincial civil legislation, and highlight the gap that exists for purely synthetic images that are realistic but not based on altered source photos. The discussion then focuses on the specific language proposed in Bill C-16, which would capture realistic visual representations that could reasonably be mistaken for actual recordings of an identifiable person, even where no real image ever existed. The episode also explores potential freedom of expression concerns under section 2(b) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, particularly where AI-generated imagery is used for political satire or commentary, and considers whether the existing “public good” defence is sufficient. Finally, it reviews Bill C-16’s proposed new offence of threatening to distribute intimate images, explaining how it goes beyond traditional sextortion and why it represents a significant change to Canadian criminal law. Information on Bill C-16 can be found here: https://www.parl.ca/LegisInfo/en/bill/45-1/C-16 Where you can find me ► Privacylawyer blog: https://blog.privacylawyer.ca ► My law firm: https://www.mcinnescooper.com/people/david-fraser ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/privacylawyer ► LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidtsfraser Disclaimer: This is intended for education and information only and should not be taken as legal advice. If you need advice for your particular situation, you should seek out qualified counsel. All views expressed are solely those of the creator and should not be attributed to his firm or any of its clients.

    10 min
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Award-winning info about Canadian privacy and tech law from Canadian privacy lawyer David Fraser. Seriously, I won a Canadian Law Blog Award (Clawbie!) in 2023 for the YouTube version of this channel.

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