Spy Watchdog Warns of Privacy Gaps in Military Online Intelligence
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The National Security and Intelligence Review Agency reports that the Department of National Defence lacks sufficient oversight and record-keeping for internet-based data collection.
A national spy watchdog has identified significant privacy risks regarding how the Canadian military collects information about citizens through online searches. According to reporting from CityNews Toronto, the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency found that while the Canadian Armed Forces and the Department of National Defence possess the legal authority to gather publicly available information from the internet for intelligence purposes, there are notable failures in oversight and privacy protection.
The review agency noted that the military fails to systematically document the connection between open-source internet collection activities and the specific approved defence activity or operation. Furthermore, the watchdog stated that current record-keeping and policies do not adequately address all privacy risks, nor do they sufficiently demonstrate that the collection of information involving Canadians is necessary.
CityNews Toronto reports that the agency emphasized that even when information is publicly available online, its collection and analysis by government bodies can still create privacy concerns. The watchdog asserted that Canadians must be able to trust that such intelligence activities are conducted for a clear, lawful purpose and that privacy rights are upheld.