Should internet conversations be monitored by authorities?
AGAINST
Canada is a democracy
Monitoring would be a method of spying on the opinions of others
Violating the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, S.2 (b)
"freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication"
Countries in a dictatorship contol internet conversations
Eritrea
North Korea
Cuba
China
Historically, countries who have controlled internet conversations and activity have exploited their abilities and surveillance to silence opinions that are against the governement.
Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi
Publicly criticized Saudi Arabia's policies
Wrote in a Washington Post column on 3 April 2018 that Saudi Arabia "should return to its pre-1979 climate, when the government restricted hard-line Wahhabi traditions. Women today should have the same rights as men."
Assasinated by representatives from the Saudi Arabian government
Information collected based on Internet data to track down location
Limits Freedom
Government can collect data that might be of a larger concern in the future
Article 17 of the United Nation's covenant in International Law states that “no one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy, family, home and correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his or her honour and reputation”.
Counterproductive
UN research suggests that surveillance is more of a political gesture rather than results-oriented
Government resources wasted
Mass surveillance actually increases the risk that intelligence and law enforcement agencies will miss real, credible threats as they are distracted by false positives.
Surveillance should only occur with a warrant
Should be treated like a physical search in someone's house/property
Legal Rights Section 8 says: Everyone has the right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure.
Monitoring citizen's business online is comparable to entering and searching someone's house without a justifiable reason
Potentially unconstitutional
Could act as a tool to presume everyone guilty until proven innocent
Surveillance is as though the government is spying for evidence to find someone who might be guilty of abetting or inciting a crime using their freedom of speech.
Legal Rights, Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, S. 11(d)
"to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law in a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial trubunal"