Spy watchdog flags privacy risk from military’s online intelligence activities

A national spy watchdog report says the military’s policy on the collection of information about Canadians doesn’t sufficiently address the privacy risks posed by online searches.

The National Security and Intelligence Review Agency found the Defence Department and the Canadian Armed Forces have the legal authority to collect publicly available information from the internet for intelligence purposes, but the watchdog noted shortcomings on privacy protection and oversight.

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The review agency says information publicly available online can still raise privacy concerns when it’s collected and analyzed by government organizations.

It says Canadians should be able to trust that intelligence collection has a clear, lawful purpose and that their privacy rights are respected.

The watchdog found the military does not systematically record the link between open-source collection activities on the internet and the approved operation or defence activity.

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It also says policies and record-keeping do not adequately address all privacy risks or demonstrate that collection involving Canadians is necessary.