Surfers Beware: Big Brother is Watching the Web
By MICHAEL HAMMOND

Bell Sympatico intends to monitor or investigate content and, if necessary, disclose any information to the government. (Getty)


OTTAWA (CP) - One of Canada's largest Internet service providers is warning its customers that Big Brother is lurking online, with the federal government expected to revive an Internet surveillance bill.

If the legislation is reintroduced, it could allow police unfettered access to personal information without a warrant, experts warn.

Bell Sympatico has informed its customers that it intends to "monitor or investigate content or your use of your service provider's networks and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy any laws, regulations or other governmental request."

Bell Sympatico's new customer service agreement, which took effect June 15, is a clear signal the telecommunications industry expects the Conservative government to revive the surveillance law, said Michael Geist, an Internet law professor at the University of Ottawa.

"Everybody expects it's going to be reintroduced," Geist said in an interview. "If anything, (the new bill) will be a hardened approach."

A spokeswoman for Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said no decision has been made on the bill, known as the Modernization of Investigative Techniques Act.

The act was originally introduced by the Liberals last November, but died on the Commons order paper when their minority government fell shortly after.

Surveillance laws in the U.S. sparked controversy recently after several newspapers reported the U.S. Treasury Department has been secretly monitoring online banking activities to track terrorist financing.

Geist said Bell's new customer service agreement shows that Canadian telecommunications companies are already preparing to comply with new online surveillance legislation.

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