Canada’s privacy commissioner would have liked federal agents to consult him before starting to use new and controversial “very powerful and potentially intrusive” spyware.
“The use of spyware raises privacy issues. […] It’s not that you can’t use the tool. Perhaps the criterion [d’équilibre avec le respect de la vie privée] has been reached, but we have to make sure of it,” said Privacy Commissioner Philippe Dufresne on Monday.
He answered questions from federal elected members of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics (ETHI). This parliamentary committee launched on Monday the examination of the use for several years of spyware by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
The commissioner says he was not made aware of the use of this type of software before learning about it in the media this summer. He is due to meet with RCMP officials in August to verify that the necessary safeguards have been put in place for his use.
“We are not in a situation where we intercept a landline telephone. There, there is a lot of information in a phone [intelligent]. »
Philippe Dufresne wants the law to strengthen the powers of his office to give it a mandatory role in assessing the impact on privacy of such programs. For the time being, only internal government policy dictates that this issue be assessed. The RCMP must also seek a warrant from a judge to conduct such investigations with this software.
32 surveys
Liberal MP Lisa Hepfner read to the committee a response provided by the RCMP that this software was used for 32 investigations, infecting a total of 49 devices, since 2017. These investigations were allegedly related to cases of kidnapping, murder or terrorism.
“It’s not like we abused this technology,” she commented.
A series of investigations by the Citizenlab site, associated with the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto, reported in 2016 the use of spyware called Pegasus, created by the Israeli firm NSO Group. Canada was among 45 countries suspected of using this software, capable of accessing the smartphone of its targets without their knowledge.
Conservative MP for British Columbia Van Popta obtained in June 2022 an answer to a question in Parliament proving the use of this type of spyware by the RCMP. Bloc Québécois MP René Villemure then asked to launch the work of the ETHI parliamentary committee on this issue during the summer.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino and RCMP officials are scheduled to speak to the committee on Monday afternoon.
More details will follow.