Microphone by drestwn (CC BY 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/fnHA8h
The Telecom Transparency Project’s Managing Director, Dr. Christopher Parsons, provided comments to the CBC about the regularity at which police historically requested telecommunications data from Internet providers. According to a document obtained by the CBC police were requesting access to telecommunications data in 80-95% of all investigations.
Dr. Parsons wondered “How exactly did they derive such high numbers? What is the methodology? … If it is sound, that indicates an incredibly high rate, assuming that all crimes or all investigations are some way linked with telecommunications data.”
He was also asked to comment on government documents discussing Canadian Internet service providers transparency reports. The documents show that Public Safety sought advice about whether there were legal issues in issuing the reports. Dr. Parsons stated that, were he “being very charitable, it could be a way to assuage the concerns that ISPs [internet service providers] may have had … Less charitably, it could also mean that Public Safety was interested in seeing if there was a way to prevent the reports from coming out.”