Report Summary
1. Canada and the European Union: European digital rights groups urged the EU to challenge Canada’s proposed Bill C-22. They warn its surveillance capability and data retention provisions could weaken encryption and reach European users. Those are the groups’ concerns; the bill remains under consideration.
2. China: The cyberspace regulator publicised a further crackdown on online malicious posts about companies, reporting over 1.56 million removals and 26,000 accounts penalised during the campaign. Authorities cite false allegations and extortion; the scale raises questions about how legitimate corporate criticism is distinguished.
3. Australia and the United States: The US government publicly challenged Australia’s proposed digital duty of care for online services, warning that broad definitions of harm could encourage censorship and affect Americans’ feeds. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese defended the proposal as a way to improve online safety and user control.
4. The United Kingdom: Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights called for an AI Bill covering the full development and deployment cycle. It proposed risk based duties, stronger transparency, prior approval for certain high risk systems, and a regulator with enforcement powers.
5. Case Note (United States): In Doe v GitHub, No. 24-7700 D.C., No. 4:22-cv-06823- JST, the Ninth Circuit upheld dismissal of programmers’ Digital Millennium Copyright Act claims concerning Copilot and Codex outputs. The court held that the pleaded output theory did not show removal of copyright information from an existing work; contract claims remain pending.
This report includes important updates and news in technology law from Canada, European Union, China, the United States and the United Kingdom. Access the latest opportunities, including remote jobs in technology law, internships, and call for papers.
Lead Story
Canada and the European Union: A surveillance Bill becomes a European concern
A group of European civil society organisations asked European officials to challenge Canada’s proposed Lawful Access Act, known as Bill C 22. The organisations want its provisions on technical access and data retention removed or narrowed. They also want European officials to raise the issue during digital trade discussions with Canada. Canada’s Parliament records the bill as having passed the House of Commons and awaiting further consideration in the Senate. The proposal remains under consideration.