Canadian academics, consumer groups, question ISPs on data sharing with feds

By Lesley Hunter

TORONTO – A coalition of Canadian academics and consumer groups are asking the country’s biggest telecommunications service providers to divulge the extent to which they pass on their customers’ private information to government agencies when asked.Spearheaded by Toronto-based researcher Dr. Christopher Parsons, the organization sent letters to 16 different companies this week, including Bell, Rogers, Cogeco, Shaw, Telus and Videotron, asking them to respond to questions on their data retention and sharing policies. The telcos were asked to respond or commit to responding by March 3, 2014.“Specifically, we are asking how, when, and why your company discloses information to government...