Activism

The coronavirus pandemic highlights the need for a surveillance debate beyond ‘privacy’

By David Lyon, The Conversation, 24 May 2020

The coronavirus pandemic has stirred up a surveillance storm. Researchers rush to develop new forms of public health monitoring and tracking, but releasing personal data to private companies and governments carries risks to our individual and collective rights. COVID-19 opens the lid on a much-needed debate. Read More

Data-driven elections and the key questions about voter surveillance

By David Lyon and Colin Bennett, The Conversation , August 5, 2019

Using data during election campaigns is nothing new. But as the Canadian federal election approaches, authorities must be diligent that data tracking doesn't become surveillance. Read more

Launch of Screening Surveillance

Please join us for the launch of the Screening Surveillance Film series. _____________________________________

Monday April 8th, 4:00pm - 7:00pm THE SCREENING ROOM 120 Princess Street, Second Floor, Kingston, Ontario K7L 5M6

_____________________________________ Featuring: BLAXITES : the story of a young woman whose celebratory social media post affects her access to vital medication....

Proportional representation isn't all about the data

By Colin Bennett, Opinion, Times Colonist , November 4, 2018

Cambridge Analytica was a symptom of a pervasive belief that elections are now won with data, says Colin Bennett, a political science professor at the University of Victoria. He contends that these practices are far less common in countries that have multi-party systems rooted in elections based on proportional...

Questions remain over political party data practices after recent testimony, says expert Colin Bennett

by Laura Ryckewaert, The Hill Times , November 5, 2018

Little has been learned and questions remain after the recent and unprecedented House committee appearance by representatives from Canada’s major political parties, who spoke about and took questions on parties’ collection, use, and protection of personal data, says University of Victoria professor and privacy expert Colin Bennett. Read...

eQuality Lesson Plans for the Disconnection Challenge

Teens Talk Tech: Social Media and Families in the Digital Age was hosted by the Surveillance Studies Centre , along with The eQuality Project , the Ontario Secondary Teachers Federation District 27 , and the Kingston Frontenac Public Library . Valerie Steeves, University of Ottawa, and Valerie Michaelson, Queen's University discussed...

Is Sidewalk Labs doing enough to protect privacy? No

By David Murakami Wood and Bianca Wylie , Aug. 28, 2018, Opinion, Toronto Star. Before we answer the question of whether Sidewalk Labs is doing enough to protect privacy, we have to ask what Sidewalk Labs is up to in Toronto in the first place. Read more.

Are Data Driven Elections Ethical? – Some Lessons from the UK

By August 13, 2018, Opinion, Globe and Mail.

A data-driven election can be ethical

In the run-up to the 2019 federal election, there needs to be far more transparency about how personal data is captured, processed, mined,...

Statement to House of Commons

By Colin Bennett, April 26, 2018 to the Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics: Cambridge Analytica, Facebook, AIQ and the Data-Driven Election

The current controversy concerning Cambridge Analytica, Aggregate IQ and Facebook has raised to public and media attention a number of interrelated issues, that need to be carefully distinguished: Read More

Watch the meeting...

Facebook: A mass media micro-surveillance monopoly

By Andrew Clement and David Lyon, April 23, 2018, Opinion, The Globe and Mail By blowing the whistle on Cambridge Analytica’s dodgy dealings with political campaigners in the U.S. and the U.K., Canadian Chris Wylie has given the social-media anthill a well-deserved kick. We’re now getting a rare glimpse into the hyperactive but hidden world of online-data trafficking –...

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