A new Senate bill that would allow Canadian border agents to examine contents stored on travellers’ personal digital devices if an officer has “reasonable general concern” sets a low standard that fails to protect individual privacy, a civil rights group says.
Bill S-7, the Liberal government’s proposed legislation that seeks to amend the Customs Act and the Preclearance Act, doesn’t provide a clear definition as to what constitutes a “reasonable general concern.”
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA), in a May 16 news release, described the threshold as “very low (and legally novel)” and said it “does not adequately protect travellers’ privacy.” It’s “a sniff test, not a standard,” and it’s not used anywhere in the Customs Act and Preclearance Act or in any other legislation the CCLA has identified so far, the civil rights group added….