Canadian Internet Providers Already Set Up For Mass Surveillance

There has been some talk recently about who would pick up the tab for a bill like C-30 when in fact the throttling technology used to slow down P2P connections can also be used for mass surveillance.  The throttling technology used by ISP’s like Bell and Rogers could be applied to snoop on 3rd party providers as well. The Privacy Commissioner of Canada has been very vocal since 2008 with respect to the use of throttling software or in tech terms Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) software being used exactly for this purpose.  From the Commissioners website:

DPI technology raises privacy concerns because it can involve the inspection of information sent from one end user to another. In other words, DPI technology has the capability to look into the content of messages sent over the Internet – enabling third parties to draw inferences about users’ personal lives, interests, purchasing habits and other activities.

The technology has the potential to give ISPs and other organizations widespread access to vast amounts of personal information sent over the Internet for:

   - Targeted advertising based on users’ behaviour while browsing the Internet:
   - Scanning network traffic for undesirable or unlawful content, such as unlicensed distribution of copyright material or dissemination of hateful or obscene materials;
   - Capturing and recording packets as part of surveillance for national security and other crime investigation purposes; and
   -  Monitoring traffic to measure network performance, and plan for future facilities investments.

Bernard Lord, president of the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association recently stated:

"These new undertakings could generate significant costs, and the question remains whether the government will compensate those costs,"

It’s been no secret to those following the telecom industry that DPI is going to be essential for wireless networks and will eventually be implemented on Canadian wireless connections (if not already).  What’s of greater interest to consumers, is that the telecom industry seems ready to cash in on bill C-30 with little to no adaptation required.  DPI is installed already on our major networks in Canada.  ISP’s are essentially already set up for this.  The Privacy Commissioner also chimed in during the CRTC net neutrality hearings on the use of DPI and for the CRTC to keep in mind and protect privacy laws due the other things this technology can be used for.  Her final submission to the CRTC’s net neutrality hearing is here.

Jason Koblovsky
Canadian Gamers Organization