Comments for eLegal Canton

Comment on Big Data and the inevitable clash with privacy by Sandy Crawley

Sandy Crawley — Fri, 18 May 2012 16:26:31 +0000

The deeper concern from my perspective, beyond the legal considerations (thank you for them) is the treatment of us all as mere consumers…the dehumanization effect of measuring the world through “Big Data”.

Comment on Commercial users of social media need to check terms of use by David Canton

David Canton — Thu, 10 May 2012 20:37:36 +0000

Andrew McClenaghan of Echidna posted Does Your Business Know The Rules? on his site with some guideslines on the actual rules. http://www.echidna.ca/blog/does-your-business-know-the-rules/

Comment on BYOD raises legal issues by Michael Dundas

Michael Dundas — Sun, 06 May 2012 12:27:13 +0000

I find this discussion very interesting. I believe David has the right idea — although I would suggest that forcing any device connecting to a network to only have a screen saver password will not fly. Would this apply to a consultant or just an employee? Would it apply to all employees or just a certain level of employee? I have my passwords and access to all my systems (that are not owned by my employer) secured — and it is none of their business — full stop. If you want access ask and they can decide. If they refuse and you feel it is in your right go to court.

What I find silly about this is that companies go to great lengths to lock down desktops, block URLs from the internet all with good intentions. Yet if a bad person really want to steal data, a simple USB key, iphone with a camera, or simple steganography will solve the problem — completely undetected. At the end of the day, you have to trust someone somewhere and sometime, trust your hiring process, and have consequences for those that breech policy.

-mike

Comment on BYOD raises legal issues by Derek Smith

Derek Smith — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:24:18 +0000

David, you raise some interesting points regarding BYOD.

Privacy and security of corporate data, whether it’s on a laptop, smartphone, tablet or stored in a cloud data storage service such as DropBox should be a significant concern of all firms.

However, “corporate policies” are insufficient controls over corporate data. A recent survey published by Cisco presents some very sobering information for those in IT and management hoping that policies will protect data. Cisco found that 8/10 new hires and recent graduates (the survey sample) admitted to knowingly ignoring corporate policies regarding data security, and 4/5 believed it was not their responsibility to protect corporate assets.

So much for reliance on policies to protect your data and your company from harm.

The Cisco report can be found here:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/netsol/ns1120/index.html?CAMPAIGN=ccwtr&COUNTRY_SITE=us&POSITION=newsletter&REFERRING_SITE=cisco+newsroom&CREATIVE=newsletter

It is my experience that most employees bypass company systems to use “personal” cloud storage systems such as DropBox. DropBox is a quality service, but is completely outside the domain of IT, and hence a risk. With DropBox, users can share data with people outside the corporate domain, and again, this is a significant risk. The other issue with DropBox is that the data is stored on Amazon Web Services in the US. Patriot Act anyone?

IT must consider ways to separate “personal” from “corporate” on user owned devices, and provide efficient tools to store, access and share data within the confines of the IT controlled domain. Other wise, users will continue to ignore corporate policies and tools in an effort to become more productive. “Policy” isn’t enough.

Comment on The quest for a new law firm website by David Smethie

David Smethie — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 23:56:09 +0000

Something I would emphasize is to make sure the web developer has a strong knowledge of on-site search engine optimization. There are many web designers that can build you a beautiful site, but do not know the basics of SEO, such as adding proper title tags and meta descriptions. This is essential for the major search engines to find your website. After all, you can have the best website in the world, but if no one can find it . . . it might as well not exist.

Comment on Child porn reporting law applies to anyone providing internet access by Stem Client Roundup for December 2011 – Law Firm Web Strategy

Stem Client Roundup for December 2011 – Law Firm Web Strategy — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 20:40:34 +0000

[...] of the London, Ontario law firm Harrison Pensa wrote about a new Canadian law regarding mandatory reporting of child pornography by anyone who provides internet access, including those to provide open wi-fi to the public, such as coffee shops and [...]

Comment on Surveillance by Design by M J Martin

M J Martin — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 21:17:54 +0000

This was the topic of my MBA thesis in 2007. I agree, It is a poorly understood subject by most, including those who should know better.

Comment on the practical complexities of music copyrights by Mark Hayes

Mark Hayes — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 17:32:09 +0000

Actually, lawyers in Canada should be very cautious about using this description (or any other from the US) as even a partially accurate statement of music copyright law in Canada. Several of the basic concepts that the author discusses (such as the “work for hire” doctrine and the requirement for court approval of certain contracts for minors) are not accurate statements of Canadian law. The law with respect to the identity of the makers of sound recordings also likely does not accurate to Canada, and of course Canada does have public performance rights for sound recordings, while (as the article states) the US does not. There are lots of other comments that could be made, but the message any Canadian lawyer should take from this is that you shouldn’t assume that any aspect of a description of US music law will automatically apply in Canada.

Comment on Log-in demand crosses line by Todd

Todd — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 00:03:19 +0000

Giving your username and password to another person violates the Facebook Terms and Conditions. From their “terms” page, it reads, “You will not share your password, (or in the case of developers, your secret key), let anyone else access your account, or do anything else that might jeopardize the security of your account.”

Comment on Log-in demand crosses line by Lauren

Lauren — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 15:15:11 +0000

Not to mention the fact that the login info would enable the potential employers to see all of my friends’ and family members’ private information as well, as they would be logging in as me. This is unconscionable behaviour.