Access and Privacy Online

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

News Summary July 26th, 2025

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, July 26th.  

We start with a solid reminder for Canadians crossing the U.S. border and some important changes in the Canadian privacy landscape. 

There’s our regular scan of access to information and privacy stories across Canada, with an interesting group of stories from Maggie Macintosh at the Winnipeg Free Press. 

Plus, we see the settlement of the lawsuit against Meta, have our now-regular review of the erosion of privacy and access to information in the United States, and look at international stories that came to our attention. 

Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20250726-access-and-privacy-online/ 

Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2025-season-episode-30 

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 July 19th, 2025

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, July 19th.  

In Canadian access news, records reveal the Alberta Government literally following the lists of most banned books in the United States to create their own book bans. Plus there’s evidence of shortfalls in Indigenous procurement and failures in emergency response. 

In Privacy and whistleblower news, we see Irish Rappers in the spotlight, a rise in antisemitism and Nazi rhetoric in Ontario schools, and one local Municipality seeking to better support and protect its own whistleblowers. 

We have regular reports of access and privacy issues south of the border including new details about privacy violations from Facebook and Meta. To wrap up, we have a special cluster of stories that intersect access to information and privacy in the UK with their efforts to protect people who served in a foreign conflict. 

Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20250719-access-and-privacy-online/ 

Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2025-season-episode-29/ 

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 July 12th, 2025

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, July 12th.  

We’re heading into the full summer season here, and while you’re hopefully enjoying the sun where you are, we’ll start with the access to information and privacy scans across Canada. There are some troubling environmental impacts as one oil company breaks a deal and another has documented ties to a provincial government. Plus, there’s a reminder that drone operators can face charges if they don’t respect people’s privacy. 

We have a few stories from south of the border, with the FTC blocking efforts to make it easier for people to unsubscribe, and one state making changes that could impact the privacy of donors to charities. 

We’ll wrap with a troubling report that intersects your travel data and data brokers and learn about recent steps in Alberta to increase understanding of new Access and Privacy laws in the province.

Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20250712-access-and-privacy-online/ 

Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2025-season-episode-28/ 

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 July 5th, 2025

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, July 5th.  

While there are national holidays in Canada and south of the border this past week, there are still lots to consider in the news. 

We’ll start with a few Canadian stories intersecting privacy, including an Ontario data breach, the Government of the Northwest Territories making changes that impact privacy in missing persons cases, and a BC case that intersects reasonable expectations of privacy in the workplace. 

We’ll have our scan of Canadian stories that intersect, or were informed by access to information, and we will then shift south of the border with more government chaos and legal battles. 

This week, we’ll wrap with a look at troubling privacy and access stories across the globe that include hiding official information, criminals targeting personal data, and actions that target religious groups at risk. 

Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20250705-access-and-privacy-online/ 

Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2025-season-episode-27/ 

To protect your rights, 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 June 28th, 2025

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, June 28th.  

We have some updates on Bill C-2 and Bill C-4 as the House of Commons rises for the summer. 

We’ll have our regular scan across the country with a surprising group of stories in Alberta echoing influences from south of the border—including moves by the provincial government to ban books and access to information showing how one elected official says one thing publicly while working for corporate interests behind the scenes. 

And we'll end with two international stories, including the Pope’s views on Artificial Intelligence—and the steps one country is taking to fight crime with weaponized police drones. 

Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/20250628-access-and-privacy-online/ 

Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2025-season-episode-26/ 

To protect your rights, 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