CSIS boss bothered that spy agency needs court approval for IP addresses

By Cosmin Dzsurdzsa, True North Wire

The director of Canada’s top spy agency says he was “very concerned” by a recent court decision that ruled IP addresses are protected from unreasonable search and seizure.

While speaking to the Public Safety Committee about extremism Mar. 21, CSIS director David Vigneault said the intelligence agency was concerned by the Supreme Court’s finding in its Bykovets decision earlier this year that IP addresses were protected under section 8 of the Charter.

“We need to have a national discussion on this, because, as I said, it is at more than just the federal level. From a CSIS point of view, it’s the ability to get access to data. The previous line of questioning regarding the Supreme Court decision on Bykovets is one that we are actively looking at,” Vigneault told MPs.

“The concern we have is that the proper judicial authorization is required to be able to take those IP addresses so that we can get to the actors and apply the tools that we have. This is a very serious concern.”

True North reached out to CSIS for comment concerning Vigneault’s comments and to ask whether the agency has sought judicial authorization for IPs since the ruling but the agency refused to respond.