Online surveillance bill to cost $80M, government estimates
Written by on February 22nd, 2012 in Latest News.
It’s going to cost at least $80 million to implement the government’s lawful access bill to force internet service providers to collect customer information in case police need it for an investigation, CBC News has learned.
C-30, a bill to update Canadian law when it comes to crimes committed online, will cost $20 million a year for the first four years and $6.7 million a year after that, Public Safety Canada told the CBC’s Hannah Thibedeau on Wednesday.
A spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Vic Toews wouldn’t provide any more information about the costs. It’s not clear if those are the only costs associated with the legislation.
The bill, also known as the online surveillance bill, would force internet service providers to install equipment so they can collect information on customers in case police obtain a judicial warrant to retrieve it.
It also updates Canadian law to force ISPs to turn over specific customer information to police without needing a warrant and eliminates the legal barriers to providing other information requested by police.
It includes some details about what costs for which the government can compensate ISPs.
