Ottawa is preparing rules for the use of potentially intrusive computer programs

However, Ottawa has not committed to making that regulation a binding legal obligation, as many Canadians and organizations are calling for.

On March 21, Anand appeared before a parliamentary committee examining the federal government's use of tools capable of extracting all data from mobile phones and computers.

If there is a problem. That's why we're reviewing our policy.This was announced by the Chairman of the Treasury Board before the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Personal Data Protection and Ethics.

The relevant federal directive currently requires Canadian government agencies to assess privacy risks before launching any new programs or activities that involve the collection or processing of personal information.

Anand's testimony follows revelations from public broadcaster Radio-Canada, which reported last November that many federal ministries and entities failed to conduct such assessments before using data mining tools.

These tools allow you to unlock mobile phones and computers, even if they are password or fingerprint protected, and access all your data, including encrypted ones. This may include emails, text messages, contacts, photos and travel history.

Many federal departments say they use these computer tools during court-ordered investigations. Other ministries also use these programs without a court order to conduct internal investigations when officials are suspected of wrongdoing.

Some government ministries had previously clarified before the same parliamentary committee that they did not consider it necessary to conduct an evaluation of the impact of computer data mining tools on privacy, because an evaluation of all their research programs had already been conducted several years ago. .

However, for many committee members, regulations, even strengthened ones, are not enough. This is the case of Bloc Québécois MP, Rene Fillmore, who asked Anand whether or not an assessment of privacy-related factors would be included in these federal regulations.

According to him, it is necessary to include the legal obligation stipulated in the Personal Data Protection Act to ensure compliance of federal entities.

Rep. Fillmore is not the only one calling for change of this kind. During his appearance before the parliamentary committee, the Privacy Commissioner, several union leaders and a communications and privacy expert made similar comments.

Treasury Board of Canada President Anita Anand said discussions on the issue are ongoing with Federal Justice Minister Arif Virani, but it is too early to comment.

Source: RC/B Office

Adaptation: RCI/R. Valencia