Canadian Security Businesses Speak Out Against TPMs

A coalition of Canadian security businesses have provided Industry Minister David Emerson and Minister of Canadian Heritage Liza Frulla with a letter calling on the government to consult with them prior to tabling any legislation to amend the Canadian Copyright Act to provide for legal protection for technological protection measures, or "TPMs". The coalition warns that "anti-circumvention laws throw a shroud of legal risk" over the security research community and conclude that "anti-circumvention laws that provide for excessive control make for bad security policy." CIPPIC legal counsel David Fewer assisted the coalition with the preparation of the letter, and with its accompanying press release and coalition backgrounder. The letter has attracted considerable media attention, and has been picked up by the Star, IT World Canada, the Washington Internet Daily, Boing Boing, p2pnet.net, Declan McCulloch's Politech: Politics & Technology, Rob Hyndman's Blog, and the McLuhan Program Weblog, as well as by Dave Farber's listserve.