News

Citizen Lab's latest news and announcements.

Christopher Parsons on The Agenda with Steve Paikin

Citizen Lab Research Associate Christopher Parsons joined The Agenda with Steve Paikin to discuss the controversial Bill C-51, anti-terrorism legislation passed by the previous Conservative government. He joined a panel to discuss potential changes to the law, which has been used by agencies like the RCMP and Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police to petition for new powers to access telephone and Internet data.

Citizen Lab Director Ron Deibert interviewed by CNNi on WeChat report

Director Ron Deibert spoke to CNN International on Citizen Lab’s recent report, titled “One App, Two Systems: How WeChat uses one censorship policy in China and another internationally.” Deibert commented on trends of censorship and surveillance in China, and Asian instant messaging applications more broadly.

Paradigm Initiative Nigeria releases “2016 Digital Rights in Africa” report

Citizen Lab Cyber Stewards Network partner Paradigm Initiative Nigeria (PIN) has released the 2016 Digital Rights in Africa report, reviewing government restrictions on Internet freedom this past year. The report analyzes 11 documented shutdowns across the continent, and a number of legislative developments that threaten digital rights.

Christopher Parsons on the police’s mass text message to solve homicide

The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) plans to send text messages to individuals who were present in the particular neighbourhood in which a homicide occurred, in an attempt to gain more information in solving the crime. Postdoctoral Fellow Christopher Parsons commented on the use and storage of this data.

Jason Q. Ng on Ali Baba CEO’s big data surveillance endorsement

In a recent speech, Ali Baba co-founder Jack Ma suggested that the Chinese government should use big data to help prevent crime, a view that resonates with the Communist party’s efforts to establish a system parsing citizen information online. Citizen Lab Senior Research Fellow Jason Q. Ng commented on Ma’s remarks in an interview with Bloomberg.