I raised a lot of eyebrows on my last post regarding the Teksavvy vs. Voltage case, so I’d thought I’d follow up with this post. Questions on why I’m so passionate about privacy and copyright should be pretty much answered after this post, and why I’ve chosen to speak out on both of those issues. Consumers sense of insecurity can have a lot more negative consequences on a much broader scale than just copyright allegations. Right or wrong, if you do any business in Canada you know that Canadian consumers have a reasonable expectation of privacy that is with the company they do business with, and also contracted as such in most cases.

The Internet is ablaze with fury at the news that a content company – Voltage Pictures – is requesting the private information of thousands of Canadian Internet users, who it claims violated its copyright. Crackdowns on alleged infringement are sweeping the nation, as ISPs are being pressured to give private companies the personal information of their accused customers. This “guilty by accusation” approach to copyright enforcement is bad for free expression, and it adds new costs for Internet service providers, which will certainly be reflected on our monthly bills. Do you want to pay for a copyright witch hunt? As the definition of infringement expands, and everyday uses of the Internet increasingly include sharing images, videos, and more, anyone could be considered a potential infringer. If you or someone using your Internet connection—even someone accessing your wireless connection without your knowledge—clicked on a link to something covered by copyright, should your information be passed along? What if the accusation is wrong?