Earlier today, I posted on how one of the most significant aspects the anti-spam bill introduced on Friday was not reported or discussed in government briefing materials.  Namely, that buried at the very end of the 69-page bill, are provisions that lay the groundwork to kill the National Do-Not-Call list.  I noted that the proposed approach is very complicated, but boils down to the government repealing the provisions that establish and govern the do-not-call list.  In its place, the Electronic Commerce Protection Act approach of requiring an opt-in would apply, meaning that Canadians would no longer need to register their phone numbers on a do-not-call list.

My weekly technology law column (homepage version, Ottawa Citizen version, Toronto Star version) provides some reasons why that the change cannot come fast enough.  The column reports that while misuse of the do-not-call list remains a concern, a review of thousands of pages of internal government documents released under the Access to Information Act reveal that it is only the tip of the iceberg.  In addition to lax list distribution policies, the enforcement side of the do-not-call list raises serious alarm bells with the majority of complaints being dismissed as invalid without CRTC investigation, the appearance of a conflict of interest in sorting through complaints, and a regulator that has been content to issue to "warnings" rather than levying the tough penalties contained in the law.

The CRTC documents obtained under Access to Information include a list of companies that have downloaded the do-not-call list. Given the broad exceptions under the law, virtually no charities, survey companies, political parties, or newspapers have acquired it.  Instead, real estate agents, car dealers, financial advisors, and lawn care companies dominate the list of over one thousand organizations.  Many of those organizations are identifiable, yet there are also over a hundred provincial numbered companies for which little is known, as well as cryptic names such as “My broker office” or “Michele.” It is unclear whether the CRTC invoked further verification before granting access to unknown organizations.

The proliferation of the do-not-call list is certainly disconcerting, but picture that emerges about its enforcement is even more troubling.  The documents reveal that the CRTC receives over 20,000 telemarketing complaints each month, many involving the do-not-call list (some complaints may relate to other telecommunications rules that cover automated dialers or curfews). 

The initial evaluation of complaints is handled by Bell, which manages the do-not-call list, rather than the CRTC. Bell reviews each complaint and provides a prima facie evaluation of whether it is valid, invalid, or indeterminate (which require further investigation). Despite tens of thousands of complaints, very few have been categorized by Bell as a prima facie violation of the do-not-call list.  For example, in January, Bell reported that there were only 42 valid prima facie national do-not-call violations, while 3,033 national do-not-call complaints were ruled invalid (an unknown number of do-not-call complaints were treated as indeterminate). 

Industry Minister Tony Clement has placed an anti-spam bill on the Notice Paper, suggesting that the Government could introduce the bill as early as tomorrow.  The bill carries the unwieldly name of "An Act to promote the efficiency and adaptability of the Canadian economy by regulating certain activities that discourage reliance on electronic means of carrying out commercial activities, and to amend the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Act, the Competition Act, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act and the Telecommunications Act."  The title obviously indicates that the anti-spam bill will feature a multi-pronged approach to fighting spam with a role for the CRTC, the Competition Bureau, and the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

Update: Sources have confirmed that barring a last minute change of heart, the bill will be introduced tomorrow (Friday).

For the past several years, my colleague Ian Kerr has led a remarkable project focusing on anonymity, privacy and identity in a networked society.  The project - one of the largest funded SSHRC grants in history - brought together dozens of experts from across Canada and around the world.  It was incredibly productive with books, articles, conferences, blog postings, and unparalleled intellectual energy.

Today that project effectively comes to an end with the launch of the book Lessons from The Identity Trail: Anonymity, Privacy and Identity in a Networked Society at an event being hosted by the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.  The book is the first to be published by Oxford University Press under a Creative Commons licence, with the entire book to be made freely available over the course of the next month.  Divided into the three main focus areas of privacy, identity, and anonymity, the 28 contributions cover a wide range of cutting edge issues including surveillance, copyright, data mining, and identity cards.  Perhaps most timely is a five chapter comparative analysis of anonymity and the law which contrasts the rules in the U.S., Canada, U.K., the Netherlands, and Italy. This is a terrific achievement by an exceptional colleague.  Whether you download the book or buy it (20% discount), what is most important is that people read the book and become informed about these critically important issues.

Update: Coverage on the launch from the CBC and Canwest.