The Canadian Civil Liberties Association invites applications for the following summer opportunities. Law students and law graduates are welcome to apply. **Please note: Our summer legal volunteer and articling recruitment processes are distinct. Summer legal volunteers who may be interested in articling at the CCLA will have to apply through our regular articling recruitment process – which is subject to CCLA’s receipt of funding for an articling fellow.* Applicants should be aware that these positions are strictly volunteer opportunities for which the CCLA does not offer compensation of any kind. However some volunteers obtain external opportunities (including fellowships, funding, or course credit through their law schools) and we are happy to …
Child Engagement Petition Will Force Age Verification & Ban Much of the Internet before It Fails in Court
Yesterday, TechFreedom filed comments urging the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to dismiss a Petition for Rulemaking filed by Center for Digital Democracy, Fairplay, and 19 other organizations that would prohibit design practices commonly used across digital media and games. Ostensibly targeted at minors, the proposed rule would make content providers Reaqd more at TechFreedom.org
Don’t Gut Section 230, TechFreedom Urges Supreme Court
Today, TechFreedom filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to rule—in line with every federal appellate court to consider the question—that Section 230 protects algorithmic recommendations of third-party content. With limited exceptions, Section 230 protects any “provider or user” of a platform—from large websites and apps to individual blogs Reaqd more at TechFreedom.org
Should Revised Merger Guidelines Address Potential & Nascent Competition?
The Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are considering changes to the Horizontal and Vertical Merger Guidelines and have asked whether the current guidelines “underemphasize or neglect … potential competition.” Join Bilal Sayyed, former director of the FTC’s Office of Policy Planning and now TechFreedom’s Senior Competition Counsel, Reaqd more at TechFreedom.org
CCLA Intervening in Tik Tok Injunction Appeal to Protect Space for Digital Activism
TikTok teens and duet fiends, take note. The CCLA is intervening in an Ontario court case that will consider the legal limits of digital activism. CCLA will be appearing before the Divisional Court to ensure that court orders are not used to stifle online political expression. The case stems from the online activism of Brooke Dietrich, a recent university graduate who used her TikTok account to call out an anti-abortion group called 40 Days for Life. The Texas-based organization regularly holds 40-day prayer vigils outside of hospital and abortion facilities. After driving past a 40 …
Authority to Regulate Political Speech Should Remain Limited
Yesterday, TechFreedom filed comments to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on its proposal to “modernize” the agency’s campaign finance regulations by subjecting any online political communication “promoted for a fee” to disclosure and disclaimer requirements. “The Internet has democratized mass communications, allowing each of us to speak our mind to an Reaqd more at TechFreedom.org
New Report Released: Ontario Deaths in Custody on the Rise
Despite a declining provincial custody population, deaths in custody in Ontario are increasing at an alarming rate. CCLA has sent a letter to the Solicitor General of Ontario urging immediate action to improve transparency, accountability, and provide trauma-informed support for prisoners and families after a loved one dies in a provincial prison. The letter comes on the heels of a new report, released this morning, which documents a sharp increase in the number of deaths in Ontario provincial institutions. Download the full report on deaths in custody Download CCLA’s letter to the Solicitor General The …
Extending COPPA to Teens is Unworkable
Today, TechFreedom wrote to members of Congress expressing our concerns about reports that Congress may include the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) in an end-of-session omnibus spending bill. COPPA works without threatening the First Amendment or the usefulness of the Internet for adults because it is limited Reaqd more at TechFreedom.org
International Report: Under Surveillance: (Mis)use of Technologies in Emergency Responses
CCLA’s international partners publish a report on global (mis)use of technologies during the pandemic The International Network of Civil Liberties Organisations, to which CCLA belongs, along with the European Centre for Not-for-Profit Law and Privacy International joined together to track the negative impacts of surveillance technology and measures deployed during the Covid-19 pandemic on activist movements and organisations. They conducted a broad survey of Covid-19 surveillance measures adopted in the 15 member countries of INCLO(including Canada) and then worked in collaboration with local groups and researchers do a deeper dive in Colombia, France, Indonesia, Kenya, …
Coalition Letter: OAMA Will Still Break Content Moderation
Today, TechFreedom was joined by a coalition of leading civil society groups and experts in technology and freedom of expression in a coalition letter to express our concerns about the Open App Markets Act (OAMA). We appreciate that the bill’s sponsors have implemented the first amendment we suggested in our February Reaqd more at TechFreedom.org
Journalism and Kids’ Safety Bills Both Threaten the First Amendment
This week, TechFreedom was joined by leading Internet law academics in two coalition letters to explain why key provisions of the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA) and the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) violate the First Amendment—and will make the Internet less safe for children and adults. As currently Reaqd more at TechFreedom.org
Kids Online Safety Act Threatens the First Amendment and Minors’ Well-Being
Yesterday, TechFreedom was joined by several leading academic experts in a coalition letter to express concerns about the threats to liberty and minors’ well-being posed by S. 3663, the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). While the goal of protecting minors from harm is laudable, how to accomplish this is a question Reaqd more at TechFreedom.org
