IPC Privacy Day Webcast
Law Enforcement and Surveillance Technologies
January 28, 2021, 9:30 – 11:30 a.m.
Free to Register
Law enforcement agencies are increasingly turning to surveillance technologies to perform policing functions and achieve operational efficiencies. Examples of these technologies include body-worn cameras, automated licence plate recognition, facial recognition and other artificial intelligence and biometric based technologies. While these technologies can aid law enforcement, they can also have a significant negative impact on privacy and other fundamental rights if not used with appropriate governance frameworks in place.
Please join us on January 28, at 9:30 a.m., when Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner, Patricia Kosseim, will host a Privacy Day discussion on the promise and perils of surveillance technologies in law enforcement. The event is free and open to all.
Key issues to be discussed include:
- Designing and integrating rules that protect personal information, and provide for effective oversight and control mechanisms
- Principles of necessity, transparency, and accountability when engaging in technology-assisted policing
- Growing public demand for police accountability and changing attitudes towards police use of technology
- The need to ensure that law enforcement use of technologies is effective in achieving its objectives and respects human rights and civil liberties
The morning’s agenda:
9:30 a.m. – Welcome and introductory remarks by IPC Commissioner, Patricia Kosseim
9:35 a.m. – Overview of emerging surveillance technologies by law enforcement, Chris Parsons, Senior Research Associate, Citizen Lab
10:00 a.m. – Panel Discussion moderated by the Commissioner
- Raj Dhir, Executive Director/Chief Legal Officer, Ontario Human Rights Commission
- Colin Freeze, Reporter, Globe and Mail
- Stephen McCammon, Legal Counsel, Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario
- Chris Parsons, Senior Research Associate, Citizen Lab
- Alana Saulnier, Criminology Program Coordinator and professor, Lakehead University
- Colin Stairs, Chief Information Officer, Toronto Police Service
11:00 a.m. – Audience Q&A moderated by the Commissioner
11:20 a.m. – Summary by Ron Kruzeniski, Information and Privacy Commissioner of Saskatchewan
11:25 a.m. – Concluding remarks by IPC Assistant Commissioner, Sherry Liang
11:30 a.m. – Event ends
Watch: Privacy Day Webcast – Law Enforcement and Surveillance Technologies
This post is also available in: French
This post is also available in: French
