CTS 2007: Illegal online content vs. lawful access debate raises many thorny issues

TORONTO - Taking a one-size-fits-all approach to tackling illegal content on the Internet won’t work, says Michael Geist, Canada Research Chair of Internet and E-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa. Geist made his comments at the conclusion of a panel discussion on illegal content and lawful access, during the Canadian Telecom Summit in Toronto on Monday. Among the illegal online content discussed were child pornography, hate messages, defamation, copyright infringement, and broader issues of legality ranging from terrorism to spam e-mail. Each of these criminal activities raises different legal issues, Geist said. For example, while it’s illegal to create,...