Parliament's public safety committee is currently examining a mass surveillance bill introduced by the Carney government. Bill C-22, known as the Lawful Access Act, has drawn sharp criticism from civil liberties advocates and the technology sector due to its potential to undermine online privacy. However, such legislation gains traction only because many elected officials fundamentally misunderstand why privacy matters.
The Ignorance of Privacy Protections
During his recent testimony before the committee, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown responded to privacy concerns by stating, 'For those who have privacy concerns, my message would be: don't commit a crime.' This remark echoes the infamous mantra 'if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear,' which has been used in New York City subway advertisements for Mullvad VPN. Such statements reveal a deep ignorance of the constitutional guarantee of privacy in Canada. Privacy is not about concealing wrongdoing; it is about preserving human dignity, autonomy, and the freedom to live without constant observation.
The Hawthorne Effect and Foucault's Panopticon
The psychological phenomenon known as the Hawthorne Effect demonstrates that people change their behaviour when they know they are being watched. Between 1920 and 1932, researchers at the Western Electric Hawthorne Works factory in Illinois observed that productivity increased whenever changes were made, even if those changes worsened working conditions. The workers were not responding to the changes themselves but to the fact that they were being observed. Observation alters how we act.
Decades later, French philosopher Michel Foucault expanded on this idea in his work Discipline and Punish. He argued that once surveillance becomes pervasive, the mere possibility of observation changes behaviour. People begin to act as though they are always being watched, even when no one is actively monitoring them. This self-policing leads individuals to avoid risks, suppress unpopular opinions, and conform to societal expectations. Foucault drew on the Panopticon, an eighteenth-century prison design by Jeremy Bentham, to illustrate how internalized fear of constant surveillance can turn society into a panopticon.
Bill C-22: A Step Toward Surveillance Nightmare
Bill C-22 would move Canada closer to this dystopian reality. The bill vaguely promises increased safety at the expense of dignity and autonomy. It would require companies providing electronic services to build systems that facilitate easy access to private data by law enforcement and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). Telecoms could be forced to log communications and device locations for up to one year. Additionally, the Minister of Public Safety could order companies to break encryption, creating 'back doors' into secure communications.
This legislation represents a profound threat to privacy rights in Canada. By misunderstanding the fundamental importance of privacy, politicians risk eroding the very freedoms that define a democratic society.
