Privacy commissioner, Apple and Google press MPs to amend lawful access bill
Privacy Commissioner Philippe Dufresne, Apple and Google urged MPs on May 26 to amend Bill C-22, the Lawful Access Act, 2026, which would expand police and Canadian Security Intelligence Service access to digital information held by phone, internet and online service companies.
The bill is the government's second attempt at a lawful access regime after an earlier version in Bill C-2 drew civil liberties objections. How it is finalized will shape what data Canadian providers must be able to hand over, how quickly, and whether they can be ordered to build new surveillance capabilities.
What the bill would do
Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree tabled the bill in March. According to The Canadian Press and the bill summary, it would:
- require phone and internet companies to confirm, without a warrant, whether they provide service to a suspected person or account;
- let police obtain subscriber information such as name, address and phone number through a judicially authorized production order;
- allow requests to foreign service providers;
- create a new Supporting Authorized Access to Information Act requiring electronic service providers to maintain technical capabilities to help authorized access; and
- give the public safety minister power to impose monetary penalties and order specific capabilities.
A government briefing for the minister says data retention requirements could apply only to metadata, for up to one year, and would exclude content, web browsing history and social media history. It says the government does not support creating backdoors.
What witnesses said
Dufresne told the House public safety committee that the bill improves on Bill C-2 and reflects some recommendations he made in November 2025, but that it still needs amendments to protect privacy, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner said. "It's not a zero-sum game between privacy and security," he said.
Apple's Erik Neuenschwander said the bill could force companies to break encryption by inserting backdoors, something he said Apple will never do. Google's Jeanette Patell said the bill goes well beyond lawful access regimes in other G7 democracies and called the minister's new powers alarming and unnecessary, noting they could include secret orders companies could not disclose.
What comes next
Conservative and NDP MPs said they would propose amendments. The bill later passed the House and, as of Oct. 8, was at second reading in the Senate, according to openparliament.ca.
