On December 7, 2020, the Citizen Lab published a report that investigates Huawei, 5G technologies, and Canadian telecommunications issues. Drawing exclusively on open-source reporting, it finds that Canada does not have a Huawei problem, per se; it has a 5G strategy problem that is linked to the Government of Canada lacking a principle-driven set of integrated industrial, cyber security, and foreign policy strategies. This document provides a summary of the research findings and questions and answers from the research team.

The solution to Canada’s 5G problems will not be found in policies that principally address one company. Instead, a robust and vendor-neutral approach is required.

Speaking with the Toronto Star, Citizen Lab senior research associate, Dr. Christopher Parsons, comments on the United Kingdom’s move to ban Huawei from the country’s 5G infrastructure. As Canada works to articulate its stance on the Chinese company, it must reconcile its unique relationship with Beijing.

Using the AMI approach, partners have launched projects around the world, including in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, and South Korea. These projects focused on making data access requests to telecommunications companies in each country, led by a local researcher and a team of volunteers. Every country has specific laws, regulations, and corporate mechanisms that present unique challenges and opportunities in accessing data, but the results of each provide insights into the larger ecosystem of data access. 

This report presents results from a series of research projects that measured responses to personal data requests from telecommunication companies and Internet Service Providers across jurisdictions in Asia including Australia, Hong Kong, South Korea, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Overall, the projects found responses from telecoms were incomplete and in some cases did not follow what is required by law.

On Tuesday, November 27, 2018 (05:00 PM – 06:30 PM) Citizen Lab senior researcher Irene Poetranto will be participating in a panel discussion addressing issues of technology-facilitated violence. In partnership with the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, this free event will cut across sectors and challenge participants to think critically about the factors that create environments for gender-based online violence to thrive and consider options for countering these systemic and toxic trends.

However, the NEB’s failure to address any of the questions in the Citizen Lab’s letter is unfortunate, as making such information available would be in the public interest even if the NEB has decided not to move forward with its initial request for information.

The Citizen Lab has sent an open letter to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of both Canada and Chile, as co-chairs of the Equal Rights Coalition (ERC), and Mr. Randy Boissonnault, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister on LGBTQ2 Issues, flagging important issues for discussion at the upcoming ERC Global Conference on LGBTI Human Rights and Inclusive Development (August 5-7, 2018, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada).

Today, Director Ron Deibert on behalf of the Citizen Lab sent a letter to the National Energy Board (NEB) raising critical questions and concerns in response to the NEB issuing a Request for Information (RFI) about “security threat monitoring services”.

Critical analysis and insight that navigates the complex implications of ongoing encryption debates.