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Law Bytes

Technology Podcasts

In recent years the intersection between law, technology, and policy has exploded as digital policy has become a mainstream concern in Canada and around the world. This podcast explores digital policies in conversations with people studying the legal and policy challenges, set the rules, or are experts in the field. It provides a Canadian perspective, but since the internet is global, examining international developments and Canada’s role in shaping global digital policy is be an important part of the story. Lawbytes is hosted by Michael Geist, a law professor at the University of Ottawa, where he holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law and where he is a member of the Centre for Law, Technology and Society.

In recent years the intersection between law, technology, and policy has exploded as digital policy has become a mainstream concern in Canada and around the world. This podcast explores digital policies in conversations with people studying the legal and policy challenges, set the rules, or are experts in the field. It provides a Canadian perspective, but since the internet is global, examining international developments and Canada’s role in shaping global digital policy is be an important part of the story. Lawbytes is hosted by Michael Geist, a law professor at the University of Ottawa, where he holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law and where he is a member of the Centre for Law, Technology and Society.

Location:

Canada

Description:

In recent years the intersection between law, technology, and policy has exploded as digital policy has become a mainstream concern in Canada and around the world. This podcast explores digital policies in conversations with people studying the legal and policy challenges, set the rules, or are experts in the field. It provides a Canadian perspective, but since the internet is global, examining international developments and Canada’s role in shaping global digital policy is be an important part of the story. Lawbytes is hosted by Michael Geist, a law professor at the University of Ottawa, where he holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law and where he is a member of the Centre for Law, Technology and Society.

Twitter:

@lawbytespod

Language:

English

Episodes

Episode 66: Ann Cavoukian on Why Canadians Can Trust the COVID Alert App

10/19/2020
As the second wave of COVID-19 seems to have arrived in many countries, the importance of measures such as social distancing, masks, testing, and tracing takes on increased importance. In Canada, the COVID Alert App is another important part of that toolkit. The app has been downloaded more than 4.5 million times and has been used to alert users to a potential exposure to the virus nearly 1,700 times. Despite the potential benefits, there remain many skeptics. Ann Cavoukian, a three-time...

Duration:00:22:52

Episode 65: My Ian Kerr Memorial Lecture - Privacy and Zambonis in the Age of COVID-19

8/24/2020
One year ago this week, Ian Kerr, a friend, colleague, teacher, and prescient scholar in the world of law, technology, and ethics, passed away. Ian’s loss sparked an outpouring of stories of a truly exceptional person whose friendship, mentorship, and en-Kerr-agement, left a remarkable legacy with so many citing his impact as a defining moment in their lives and careers. Given the impact Ian had on the privacy world, the IAPP launched an annual lecture in his honour at the IAPP Canada...

Duration:00:37:34

Episode 64: "You're Seeing the Breakup of the Web" - Anupam Chander on the Battle over TikTok

8/17/2020
TikTok has found itself at the centre of a global geo-political fight between the United States and China. U.S. President Donald Trump, citing privacy, censorship, and national security concerns, first declared his plan to ban the app from the country and later followed up with an Executive Order prohibiting commercial activities with TikTok after a 45 day implementation period. What does the battle over TikTok and other Chinese-owned apps mean for their users and for the future of an open...

Duration:00:31:15

Episode 63: Ontario Privacy Commissioner Patricia Kosseim on the COVID Alert App

8/10/2020
The Canadian government released its COVID Alert, its COVID-19 exposure notification app, earlier this month starting first with a roll-out in Ontario. The app underwent two privacy reviews, engaging both the federal privacy commissioner and the Ontario information and privacy commissioner. Patricia Kosseim, the newly appointed Ontario privacy commissioner, had only been on the job for a few hours before she was dealing with the app that was bound to attract public attention. Commissioner...

Duration:00:40:09

Episode 62: Colin Bennett on What the Schrems II Decision Means for Global Data Transfers and Canadian Privacy Law

8/3/2020
The Schrems II decision, a recent European Court of Justice ruling that declares the Privacy Shield program that facilitates data transfers between the EU and the United States invalid, has major implications for modern commercial data related activities such as cross-border data transfers. Colin Bennett is a political science professor at the University of Victoria and one of Canada’s leading privacy experts. He has written multiple books on privacy and surveillance and focuses on the...

Duration:00:31:28

Episode 61: Senator James Cowan on the Extraordinary Battle for a Genetic Anti-Discrimination Law in Canada

7/27/2020
As the broad availability of genetic testing has mushroomed over the past two decades, privacy and potential discrimination concerns associated with testing results has increased. Until recently, Canada lagged behind other countries in this regard with no specific national legislation. That changed in 2017 with the enactment of the Genetic Non-Discrimination Act. The law underwent a remarkable parliamentary journey featuring opposition from successive governments, lobbying against the bill...

Duration:00:38:37

Episode 60: Alberta Privacy Commissioner Jill Clayton on the ABTraceTogether Contact Tracing App

7/20/2020
From the very outset of the COVID-19 outbreak, public health officials have identified the potential of contact tracing applications to both assist in conventional contact tracing activities and to warn individuals that they may have been in close proximity to someone who tested positive for the virus. The Government of Alberta was first off the mark with its ABTraceTogether app that launched in May 2020. Alberta Information and Privacy Commissioner Jill Clayton recently completed her review...

Duration:00:35:47

Episode 59: "It's a Racist Policy" - Ben Cashdan on the U.S. Effort to Derail South Africa's Copyright Reform

7/13/2020
South Africa spent years embroiled in a high profile effort to update its copyright law responding to concerns from creators, the education community, and the visually impaired that the longstanding laws did not serve the national interest and were harming creativity and access to knowledge. Its Parliament ultimately passed progressive reforms in 2019, but the bill languished on the desk of President Cyril Ramaphosa, who faced enormous trade pressures from the United States and European...

Duration:00:28:26

Episode 58: "An Earth Shattering Decision" - Marina Pavlovic on the Supreme Court of Canada's Uber v. Heller Ruling

7/6/2020
The Supreme Court of Canada recently released its much anticipated Uber Technologies v. Heller decision, a landmark ruling with significant implications for the validity of online contracts and for employment relations in the gig economy. The court rejected an arbitration clause in an Uber contract with its drivers, finding the clause unconscionable. Professor Marina Pavlovic is a friend and colleague at the University of Ottawa, who appeared before the Supreme Court representing the...

Duration:00:34:35

Episode 57: Julia Reda on What Canada Should Learn from the European Battle over a Copyright Link Tax

6/29/2020
Canadian Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault recently suggested that the government's support for news media should be replaced by copyright rules that would open the door to payments from internet companies such as Google and Facebook through an Internet link tax. Julia Reda is a former Member of the European Parliament who for several years was the most active and visible politician in Europe when it came to copyright reform. She joins me on the podcast to talk about that experience, why...

Duration:00:44:29

Episode 56: Eloïse Gratton on Quebec's Plan to Overhaul its Privacy Law

6/22/2020
The state of Canadian privacy law has been ongoing source of concern with many experts concluding that the law is outdated and no longer fit for purpose. This is particularly true when contrasted with rules in the European Union that feature tough penalties and new privacy rights. It would appear that the province of Quebec has concluded that the waiting has gone on long enough as the provincial government recently introduced Bill 64, which if adopted would overhaul provincial privacy laws...

Duration:00:26:15

Episode 55: Mutale Nkonde on Racial Justice, Bias, and Technology

6/15/2020
The world has been focused for the past several weeks on racial justice and the Black Lives Matter movement, with millions around the world taking to the streets to speak out against inequality and racism. Technology and concerns about racism and bias have been part of the discussion, with some of the world’s leading technology companies changing longstanding policies and practices. Mutale Nkonde is an artificial intelligence policy analyst and a fellow at both the Berkman Klein Center for...

Duration:00:35:49

Episode 54: Eric Goldman on Internet Platform Liability and the Trump Executive Order

6/8/2020
The U.S. approach to Internet platform liability has been characterized as the single most important legal protection for free speech on the Internet. Over the past two decades, every major Internet service has turned to the rules to ensure that liability for third party content posted on their sites rests with the poster, not the site or service. Those rules have proven increasingly controversial, however, with mounting calls for the companies to take on greater responsibility for content...

Duration:00:36:22

Episode 53: Welcome Development or Waste of Time? - A Conversation With Facebook Oversight Board Member Nicolas Suzor

6/1/2020
Last month, Facebook revealed the names of the first 20 members of the Facebook Oversight Board, a body charged with conducting independent reviews of content removals. The announcement received at best a mixed greeting - some welcomed the experiment in content moderation, while others argued that the board “will have no influence over anything that really matters in the world.” Professor Nicolas Suzor of the Queensland University of Technology in Australia was named as one of the first 20...

Duration:00:39:42

Episode 52: Fair Dealing for Film Makers - Bob Tarantino on the Copyright Implications of the Room Full of Spoons Case

5/25/2020
The Room, written, directed, produced and starring Tommy Wiseau, was the subject of the 2017 film The Disaster Artist and a documentary titled Room Full of Spoons by Canadian documentary filmmakers who wanted to tell the story of the film and its popularity. The documentary has been the subject of years of litigation with Wiseau at one point obtaining an injunction to stop its release. The Ontario Superior Court of Justice recently released an important decision in the case with significant...

Duration:00:28:00

Episode 51: Canada's Urban-Rural Broadband Divide - Josh Tabish on CIRA's Internet Performance Data

5/19/2020
The state of Internet access in Canada has been the subject of considerable debate in recent years but few dispute that there are still hundreds of thousands of Canadians without access to broadband services from local providers and that for those that have access, actual speeds may be lower than advertised and below the targets set by the CRTC. CIRA manages the dot-ca domain and has played an increasingly important role on Internet policy matters. It recently submitted a report on the...

Duration:00:33:00

Episode 50: Ariel Katz on the Long-Awaited York University v. Access Copyright Ruling

5/11/2020
The Federal Court of Appeal delivered its long-awaited copyright ruling in the York University v. Access Copyright case last month which effectively confirms that educational institutions can opt-out of the Access Copyright licence since it is not mandatory and that any claims of infringement will be left to copyright owners to address, not Access Copyright. The decision also represents a major validation for University of Toronto law professor Ariel Katz, whose research and publications,...

Duration:00:34:59

Episode 49: Lilian Edwards on the Legal, Ethical and Technology Debate over Coronavirus Contact Tracing Apps

5/4/2020
As governments grapple with challenging questions about when and how to relax the current Coronavirus restrictions and give the green light to re-opening businesses, schools, and community spaces, there has been increasing emphasis on the potential for technology to assist with critical activities such as contact tracing. Canada has moved more cautiously on this issue, but the introduction of contact tracing apps seem likely. What will the apps look like and what legal framework is needed to...

Duration:00:34:04

Episode 48: Sam Trosow and Lisa Macklem on Copyright and Fair Dealing During a Pandemic

4/27/2020
With millions of Canadian students at home due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the importance of fair dealing has grown as teachers seek to provide access to teaching materials and ensure they remain compliant with the law. Sam Trosow and Lisa Macklem of Western University recently published a detailed analysis on fair dealing and emergency remote teaching in Canada. They joined the podcast to discuss fair dealing, its application during the current pandemic, and recent developments involving...

Duration:00:33:20

Episode 47: Brewster Kahle, Chris Freeland and Kyle Courtney on the Internet Archive National Emergency Library

4/20/2020
One of the effects of the Coronavirus shutdown was that hundreds of millions of books were immediately made inaccessible to students, teachers, and the wider community. The Internet Archive responded with the National Emergency Library, a tweaked version of its Controlled Digital Lending program that brings scanned versions of millions of lawfully acquired books to readers under strict controls. Brewster Kahle (founder of Internet Archive), Chris Freeland (Director of Open Libraries at...

Duration:00:35:47

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