Behind schedule, right on time
Hi friends,
It’s been a while. Trying to survive under capitalism as a self-employed ‘entrepreneur’ while being diametrically opposed or unsuited to much of the received wisdom for doing so is… uhh… ~challenging~ as many of you know. Let’s say it’s been a challenging few months.
I had a few plans for Very Offline Club this year that are now ‘behind schedule.’ Do you know that feeling of constant foreboding, that sense you are always falling behind, while the world speeds up, accelerating at a pace that seems even more acceleration-y than the previous very very fast speed you were already careening from? And what could be accelerating faster than the tech-horrors exponentially expounding all of the rest?
Well, this project is about identifying the impacts of this digital dependence on our psyches and body-minds.
And my commitment is to the neurodivergent, traumatized, working class folks being drip fed the tide of tumult, who like me, sometimes wash under.
We remake our internal algorithms in line with the externally imposed algorithms. We poeticize about the multiple tabs open in our brains.
We too have internalized the “just in time” logic of Amazon delivered to our scattered ADHD brains.
I know that I am constantly contending with this feeling of being behind schedule, and yet I know somewhere internally, perhaps in a pocket of my heart that Meta can’t tag: whatever time it is, it’s the right time.
Because this is the only time we have.
So here we go again.
This newsletter is packed. Stay with me.
We’re in a moment where the Canadian federal government is pushing through far-reaching and unaccountable policies to reshape much of our world vis-a-vis the digital world we are tied to. This affects all of us, and most especially, any of us who have qualms with the status quo.
Here’s a brief summary of what’s happened and what’s coming down the pipe.
Bill C-22: The Lawful Access Act, emphasis on the “awful”
Bill C-2, the vastly unpopular ‘Strong Borders’ bill, after languishing in second reading, was repurposed into Bill C-22 the ‘Lawful Access Act’ with all of the privacy intrusions from before plus more.
Late on June 18th, the Liberals rammed Bill C-22 through the House of Commons, cutting what little debate there was in a public safety committee that included the RCMP and CSIS, but not the Privacy Commissioner. Members were forced to pass or vote on 100 amendments without reading or discussing them, so that the Liberals could get the bill passed before the summer break. (Ah, democracy.) In the fall, the bill will go to the Senate and presumably be passed into law.
So what’s in this bill?
“[This bill] would impose mandatory metadata retention requiring providers to store data about the communications of all their users regardless of whether they are suspected of anything, compel the development of interception capabilities that place encryption at risk, and lower the evidentiary standard for access to subscriber information.”1
This bill is so bad that Signal and DuckDuckGo have threatened to pull out of the Canadian market (their whole models are built on not retaining metadata which can be used to identify and surveil users). It’s so bad that Apple, Google, and Meta have testified that it would undermine users’ privacy by leaving the door open for ‘backdoors’ that break encryption (and can be used by any willing threat actor to gain access.)
While there were some amendments made in response to the pressure - the metadata retention time was reduced to six months from one year, and the wording around decryption was watered down; the bill nevertheless significantly weakens the privacy and cybersecurity of people in Canada, while granting law enforcement and CSIS more extensive surveillance powers with less oversight.2
“If passed, the bill would compel electronic service providers to store and make information like device locations or cameras available to police or CSIS with the requisite warrant. That could be used to track a person’s live location in case they pose a threat to national security or are in danger, the government cited as examples.”3
<suspicious eyes emoji>
(Un)forced Errors: Analysis of Proposed Surveillance Law Expansion under Bill C-22, An Act respecting lawful access - The Citizen Lab
This submission analyzes Bill C-22, the Lawful Access Act, which would enact broad surveillance obligations and reforms in Canada. Issues include: the bill’s sweeping scope, significant constitutional and human rights risks, transparency and accountability deficits, and dangers to encryption and Canada’s cybersecurity. We recommend entirely withdrawing several elements of the bill and suggest amendments to mitigate harms.
Bill C-34: The Safe Social Media Act, aka surveillance camouflaged as child safety
Bill C-34, pairs an under-16 social media ban with an age verification mandate that will require tens of millions of Canadians to place their privacy at risk by verifying their age to use services such as Facebook, Instagram and Reddit. This means submitting your ID to third party verification services, and then being subject to whatever their data retention, data security policies may be.4
Bill C-36: The Protecting Privacy and Consumer Data Act, aka dismantling what privacy protections we do have
Bill C-36 creates the Digital Safety and Data Protection Commission of Canada. “A single commission of five Governor in Council appointees will now be responsible both for regulating online speech and content moderation across the country’s largest platforms (including standard setting, guidelines, audits, formal, law-enforcement-style investigations, hearings, and adjudicative powers) and for overseeing how every organization in Canada collects, uses, and discloses personal information.”5
Notably, Bill C-36 removes the Privacy Commissioner’s jurisdiction over the private sector, which now is under the purview of this new Cabinet-appointed Commission. The Privacy Commissioner reports directly to the Parliament, which means this is a serious downgrade in independence. Every private sector function, from complaints and investigations to audits, codes of practice, and penalties, are now the purview of the new five-person commission.
TL;DR: The federal Liberal government is strengthening the surveillance infrastructure around us, while weakening existing privacy and cybersecurity measures. None of these bills have passed into law yet.
You can contact your MP to stop Bill C-22 through OpenMedia’s call to action (and support their advocacy work.)
What else?
I think for those of us paying attention, none of this is particularly surprising. We are in the time of authoritarian politics, and the doublespeak of safety and protecting children have always been good stand-by’s for the fascist playbook. What happens if privacy focused companies like Signal and DuckDuckGo do pull out of the Canadian market?
More to come.
Support this work.
I would like to grow this work and offer consistent newsletters and in-person events that are accessible for those most impacted.
Become a paid subscriber for an amount of your choice, so I can take the time to research, develop my ideas, and share them with you. There is currently no funding for this project.
What do you get as a paid subscriber? The same access to the newsletters, first notice of the in-person events, i.e. the same things you get for free, plus some added satisfaction about where your money is going.
Newsletter topics to come: why Buttondown? What services exist for independent ‘entrepreneurs’ that aren’t data mining? Tips for tiny businesses, community orgs, and more.
The in-person events are accessible offline opportunities to skill up, learn, reflect, and to remember and develop embodiment.
Like our last event in March: Looking Through the Looking Glass: A Meta-Experience of Meta: An Evening of Embodiment:::
This was one of the more powerful events I’ve hosted. I’ve been asking, where are the spaces to talk about what’s happening to us online but also drop down into our bodies? I was grateful to co-create such a space with the participants. Folks left feeling more grounded and connected.
From a participant:
Very Offline Club creates the kind of community that you can't replicate online. It's a warm, welcoming space that both provokes reflection and allows our brains much-needed rest.
Very Offline Club in your city
Would you like to bring these events to your city? Write me.
Aligned events in Toronto and GTA:
Are you hosting or know of an event that aligns with the Very Offline Club ethos (e.g. a party with no phones) - send me the info and I may include it in the next newsletter.
Work directly with me.
I offer office hours for cybersecurity and privacy topics. No such thing as a ‘stupid’ question. Tech literacy is for everyone.
I offer personalized acupuncture for a wide variety of physical and psycho-emotional conditions including screen dependence.
Learn more and book an acupuncture treatment.
I offer group NADA (ear acupuncture) circles for stress reduction, cravings, anxiety. Get in touch!
Happy Pride! [[[No pride in genocide!]]]
See you offline,
-G
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