Making Surveillance Policy Change in Canada: Slow Burns and Sudden Actions

Saturday, July 13, 2024: 7:00 pm (Tobin 201/202): This is a talk about the deobfuscating state surveillance project that aims to map out state surveillance capabilities in Canada and the U.K., as well as the laws that govern them (or do not). Started...

Saturday, July 13, 2024: 7:00 pm (Tobin 201/202): This is a talk about the deobfuscating state surveillance project that aims to map out state surveillance capabilities in Canada and the U.K., as well as the laws that govern them (or do not). Started during the pandemic with collaborators in Canada and the U.K., the research has been a slow and gradual process. Taking advantage of Canada's access-to-information system, the team has spent three years diving into government procurement and has requested over $750 million worth of federal contracts with manufacturers of a wide array of surveillance technology. In this session, Evan will discuss their work on mobile forensic devices - crafty tools for hacking digital devices which they've found to be in use by at least 14 federal agencies, and a journalistic collaboration which quickly led to a parliamentary hearing and substantive policy change within six months.

Evan Light