By Drew Wilson
A recent submission made by a number of corporate organizations in the Canadian anti-spam initiative is raising alarm bells. The groups are demanding that certain kinds of software (like spyware) be exempt from provisions of the anti-spam law that could theoretically be used for the purposes of anti-piracy operations on the personal device level.
Michael Geist, a very well known Canadian law professor whose analysis of Canadian issues has become widely regarded around the world, has been following the Canadian anti-spam legislation for quite some time. While the initiative to stop spam was largely seen as a positive Canadian technology and law story, the story has recently taken a very disturbing twist recently. Language in a submission made by the Coalition of Business and Technology Associations which includes the Canadian Bankers Association, Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, Entertainment Software Association of Canada and the Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada appears to open the door to allow spyware to installed on a personal computing device for the purposes of blocking certain kinds of traffic or the blocking of entire websites that major industry types do not approve of which can include anti-piracy operations.
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