Access and Privacy Online

News Summary October 4th, 2025

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, October 4th.  

It’s another big week on the privacy and access front. Nova Scotia has introduced new legislation that its commissioner warns may actually weaken transparency. We’ll follow that with access stories from across Canada, many powered by the Local Journalism Initiative. 

On the privacy side, we’ll look at cases ranging from a high-profile banking breach to a local hockey livestream that’s raising surveillance concerns. 

In the U.S., the slide toward autocracy continues—with lawsuits over voter data, federal rollbacks on worker rights, and even a lawsuit connecting Bass Pro Shops, Facebook, and Cambridge Analytica. 

And internationally, tech giants face fresh scrutiny over unsafe online environments, Britain reels from more data breaches, Afghanistan experiences a nationwide internet blackout, and the Associated Press shines a spotlight on the exploitation of women in Gaza. 

Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20251004-access-and-privacy-online/ 

Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2025-season-episode-40 

Protect your rights, Canadian MPs need to: 

Stop Bill C-2 https://iclmg.ca/stop-bill-c-2/  

Stop Bill C-4 Part 4 https://fipa.bc.ca/bill-c-4-2025/ 

News Summary September 27th, 2025

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, September 27th.  

We hope everyone’s had a great Right to Know Week. 

It’s been a big one—with privacy commissioners at both the national and provincial levels releasing major findings and a wave of stories that give us plenty to dig into. 

We’ll begin here in British Columbia, where an unprecedented audit of one of the province’s largest public bodies found serious failures to comply with access to information law. Then we’ll scan access stories from across the country. 

On the privacy side, TikTok faces stinging criticism from federal and provincial watchdogs for failing to protect children’s data. We’ll also track the fallout from recent data breaches, including new legislation in Nova Scotia. 

Internationally, the United States continues to rewrite long-standing rules, with Trump and his allies pressing to expand presidential power, criminalize antifascist sentiment, and gain access to sensitive voter information. And we’ll close with updates on Canada’s own controversial Bills C-2 and C-4, which FIPA will be following closely in the weeks ahead. 

Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20250927-access-and-privacy-online

Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2025-season-episode-39 

Protect your rights, Canadian MPs need to: 

Stop Bill C-2 https://iclmg.ca/stop-bill-c-2/  

Stop Bill C-4 Part 4 https://fipa.bc.ca/bill-c-4-2025/ 

Support these efforts by subscribing or donating. 

Send comments to FIPAOnline@fipa.bc.ca 

Our Contributors: 

Writing: Shaun Fisk | Production: Patrick Farnsworth | Music: Breakmaster Cylinder  

Access and Privacy Online: https://fipa.bc.ca/research-resources/podcasts/access-and-privacy-online/  

News stories through the Canadian Press and Feedly. 

Available through: PodBean, Apple iTunes,  YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM. ListenNotes,  Podchaser, Boomplay 

 

News Summary September 20th, 2025

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, September 20th.  

This week we have a lot of stories from both the Canadian Press and the Local Journalism Initiative informed by access to information—including new details on Canadian military procurements, RCMP body cameras, and whistleblowers raising alarms about New Brunswick Power. 

On the privacy front, in a move that seems almost unbelievable, Alberta plans to consolidate identification and add citizenship markers to driver’s licenses. 

And internationally, echoes from British Columbia reach across the Atlantic as opponents of the 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps launch legal action over citizens’ right to information. 

Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20250920-access-and-privacy-online/ 

Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2025-season-episode-38 

Protect your rights, Canadian MPs need to: 

Stop Bill C-2 https://iclmg.ca/stop-bill-c-2/  

Stop Bill C-4 Part 4 https://fipa.bc.ca/bill-c-4-2025/ 

Support these efforts by subscribing or donating. 

Send comments to FIPAOnline@fipa.bc.ca 

Our Contributors: 

Writing: Shaun Fisk | Production: Patrick Farnsworth | Music: Breakmaster Cylinder  

Access and Privacy Online: https://fipa.bc.ca/research-resources/podcasts/access-and-privacy-online/  

News stories through the Canadian Press and Feedly. 

Available through: PodBean, Apple iTunes,  YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM. ListenNotes,  Podchaser, Boomplay 

News Summary September 13th, 2025

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, September 13th.  

We’re back after a late-summer break, and while we were away, the news didn’t stop. In today’s review, we’ll cover major Canadian access-to-information and whistleblower stories, a worrying update on the Nova Scotia Power cyberattack, and a hard-hitting Associated Press investigation into how American tech companies helped build China’s surveillance state. 

Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20250913-access-and-privacy-online/ 

Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2025-season-episode-37 

Protect your rights, Canadian MPs need to: 

Stop Bill C-2 https://iclmg.ca/stop-bill-c-2/  

Stop Bill C-4 Part 4 https://fipa.bc.ca/bill-c-4-2025/ 

Support these efforts by subscribing or donating. 

Send comments to FIPAOnline@fipa.bc.ca 

Our Contributors: 

Writing: Shaun Fisk | Production: Patrick Farnsworth | Music: Breakmaster Cylinder  

Access and Privacy Online: https://fipa.bc.ca/research-resources/podcasts/access-and-privacy-online/  

News stories through the Canadian Press and Feedly. 

Available through: PodBean, Apple iTunes,  YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM. ListenNotes,  Podchaser, Boomplay 

 

News Summary August 23rd, 2025

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, August 23rd.  

We start with a flip-flop from Alberta, where public backlash has forced Premier Danielle Smith to walk back plans to stop disclosing government expense receipts. 

Our access and privacy scan across the country brings us stories ranging from the everyday challenges Canadians face trying to get information about local services to questions of national security as Canadian diplomats abroad come under attack. 

We’ll look at the continuing impact of the Taliban in Afghanistan, with new stories reaching into Canada and Britain. And we wrap with developments south of the border, where privacy and access rights continue to collide with politics and commerce. 

Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20250823-access-and-privacy-online/ 

Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2025-season-episode-34 

Protect your rights, Canadian MPs need to: 

Stop Bill C-2 https://iclmg.ca/stop-bill-c-2/  

Stop Bill C-4 Part 4 https://fipa.bc.ca/bill-c-4-2025/ 

Support these efforts by subscribing or donating. 

Send comments to FIPAOnline@fipa.bc.ca 

Our Contributors: 

Writing: Shaun Fisk | Production: Patrick Farnsworth | Music: Breakmaster Cylinder  

Access and Privacy Online: https://fipa.bc.ca/research-resources/podcasts/access-and-privacy-online/  

News stories through the Canadian Press and Feedly. 

Available through: PodBean, Apple iTunes,  YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM. ListenNotes,  Podchaser, Boomplay 

News Summary August 16th, 2025

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, August 16th.  

We start with our privacy scan—from a major airline cyberattack exposing sensitive travel documents to new scam alerts and an urgent warning about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. 

Then it’s our scan of access to information stories, including commitments for greater transparency from newly declared Grand Chief of the Cree Nation Paul John Murdoch—and a move by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to erase eight years of publicly available expense records. 

We’ll wrap with the growing influence of artificial intelligence on how young people are monitored and policed—ending with the “godfather of AI” on what he believes is the only way humanity can survive the rise of superintelligent machines. 

Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20250816-access-and-privacy-online/ 

Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2025-season-episode-33 

Protect your rights, Canadian MPs need to: 

Stop Bill C-2 https://iclmg.ca/stop-bill-c-2/  

Stop Bill C-4 Part 4 https://fipa.bc.ca/bill-c-4-2025/ 

Support these efforts by subscribing or donating. 

Send comments to FIPAOnline@fipa.bc.ca 

Our Contributors: 

Writing: Shaun Fisk | Production: Patrick Farnsworth | Music: Breakmaster Cylinder  

Access and Privacy Online: https://fipa.bc.ca/research-resources/podcasts/access-and-privacy-online/  

News stories through the Canadian Press and Feedly. 

Available through: PodBean, Apple iTunes,  YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM. ListenNotes,  Podchaser, Boomplay 

News Summary August 9th, 2025

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, August 9th.  

Even with a light news week as Canadians get back from the August Long Weekend, there are privacy and access stories of note. The federal privacy commissioner is now investigating the WestJet cybersecurity breach.

Access to government documents continues to fuel headlines and provide new insights—including a broken promise from Ontario’s Premier. 

And in our international segment, we see Trump continuing to seek retribution through his Justice Department over the 2020 election, and a new UN report documents the plight of women and girls in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. 

Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20250809-access-and-privacy-online/ 

Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2025-season-episode-32 

Protect your rights, Canadian MPs need to: 

Stop Bill C-2 https://iclmg.ca/stop-bill-c-2/  

Stop Bill C-4 Part 4 https://fipa.bc.ca/bill-c-4-2025/ 

Support these efforts by subscribing or donating. 

Send comments to FIPAOnline@fipa.bc.ca 

Our Contributors: 

Writing: Shaun Fisk | Production: Patrick Farnsworth | Music: Breakmaster Cylinder  

Access and Privacy Online: https://fipa.bc.ca/research-resources/podcasts/access-and-privacy-online/  

News stories through the Canadian Press and Feedly. 

Available through: PodBean, Apple iTunes,  YouTube, Spotify, Amazon

News Summary August 2nd, 2025

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, August 2nd.  

We start with a scan of access to information stories across Canada that touch on many recurring issues—including a legislative review in New Brunswick that could strengthen the province’s Right to Information and Protection of Privacy Act. 

Then, as back-to-school season begins, we look at a troubling new privacy trend: parents being targeted by AI-driven scams. 

From there, we head south of the border for our regular check-in on the erosion of access and privacy rights in the United States. This week’s roundup includes presidential directives shaping artificial intelligence and disturbing political influences on search results. 

And finally, we wrap with international headlines, including the legacy of Hulk Hogan’s privacy lawsuit—and how one dating app’s security flaws put its users at risk. Plus two troubling stories that provide evidence of the US republican party putting their thumb on the scale of artificial intelligence and a potential example of big tech attempting to export US laws into Canada.

Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20250802-access-and-privacy-online/ 

Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2025-season-episode-31 

Protect your rights, Canadian MPs need to:

Stop Bill C-2 https://iclmg.ca/stop-bill-c-2/  

Stop Bill C-4 Part 4 https://fipa.bc.ca/bill-c-4-2025/ 

Support these efforts by subscribing or donating. 

Send comments to FIPAOnline@fipa.bc.ca 

Our Contributors: 

Writing: Shaun Fisk | Production: Patrick Farnsworth | Music: Breakmaster Cylinder  

Access and Privacy Online: https://fipa.bc.ca/research-resources/podcasts/access-and-privacy-online/  

News stories through the Canadian Press and Feedly. 

Available through: PodBean, Apple iTunes,  YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM. ListenNotes,  Podchaser, Boomplay