Telecoms evasive on how they co-operate with spies, police: researchers

OTTAWA – Privacy advocates say they’re disappointed with responses from Canadian telecommunication companies about when and how they hand information about customers to national security agencies.

Researcher Christopher Parsons, who helped lead the effort to find out more about the practices, says just 10 of 16 Internet and telephone companies responded to a January questionnaire, while another firm asked for more time.

Parsons says companies generally declined to provide specific responses to questions and few gave specific details about what they do to protect subscribers’ privacy.

The informal coalition — which includes the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab, academics and civil liberties organizations — says Canadians have only a vague understanding of how, why, and how often companies have disclosed information to government agencies.

The initiative comes amid public concern about surveillance by western security agencies and a legislative move by the federal government to make it easier for authorities to find out more about telecom customers.

The government says authorities need easier access to subscriber information to catch terrorists, pedophiles and other criminals.

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