Mozilla Is the Newest Voice To Speak Out Against Harper’s Bill C-51

The maker of the popular web browser, Firefox, has given its two cents about the controversial Bill C-51.

In their official blog, Mozilla spoke out through Internet Policy Manager Jochai Ben-Avie about the “aggressive counterterrorism bill”. Speaking about both the U.S.’s Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) and Canada's Bill C-51, Ben-Avie discusses the harms of these “problematic surveillance provisions”.

The blog addresses the sweeping scope of Bill C-51 and how it grants new authority to Canadian intelligence agencies CSIS and CSE. Ben-Avie argues that the exceptions for information sharing in the bill will “erode the relationship between individuals and their government” by removing compartmentalization of private info provided by Canadians to the government. The post says that Canadians give some of their most private information (for censuses, tax compliances, health, etc.) and trust that this information will only be used for its original purpose.

“This compartmentalization, currently a requirement of the Privacy Act, will not exist after Bill C-51 comes into force,” says Ben-Avie.

(Photo Credit: Mozilla)

He also says that the Bill gives CSIS the power “to take unspecified and open-ended ‘measures,’ which may include the overt takedown of websites, attacks on Internet infrastructure, introduction of malware, and more all without any judicial oversight. These kinds of attacks on the integrity and availability of the Web make us all less secure.”

“This is an approach to cybersecurity that only serves to undermine user trust, threaten the openness of the Web, and reduce the security of the Internet and its users,” says Ben-Avie of CISA and Bill C-51. He finished by saying that Mozilla strongly opposes both proposed bills.

Harper’s anti-terrorism has drawn much criticism, and the federal NDP party announced on Friday that they’ve introduced amendments to delete clauses that undermine Canadians’ rights and freedoms.