This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, January 31st.

This week, artificial intelligence is colliding with privacy, democracy, and public trust—from Google’s move to fold personal data directly into AI-powered search to renewed federal plans for an online harms bill that could reshape how Canadians, especially children, experience the internet.

We’re also tracking how access-to-information requests continue to reveal gaps in accountability, from policing and municipal spending to environmental protection, while privacy failures—inside police forces, public utilities, and care homes—raise urgent questions about oversight and transparency.

And in the United States, we’ll look at platform power, data breaches, voter privacy, and what happens when democratic processes slip out of public view.

Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20260131-access-and-privacy-online

Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2026-season-episode-05

FIPA Bill C-4:

• Bill C-4 Dashboard: https://fipa.bc.ca/fipa-bill-c-4-part-4-dashboard/

• Bill C-4 Backgrounder: https://fipa.bc.ca/bill-c-4-background/

• Send a message to members of parliament: https://fipa.bc.ca/c-4-email-to-mps/

• Send a message to Senators: https://fipa.bc.ca/c-4-email-to-senators/

• Bill C-4 Resources: https://fipa.bc.ca/bill-c-4-resources/

• Donate to Help Us Reach More Canadians: https://fipa.bc.ca/pr/donate-c4/

Support these efforts by subscribing or donating.

Send comments to FIPAOnline@fipa.bc.ca

Our Contributors:

Writing: Shaun Fisk | Production: Patrick Farnsworth | Music: Breakmaster Cylinder

Access and Privacy Online: https://fipa.bc.ca/research-resources/podcasts/access-and-privacy-online/

News stories through the Canadian Press and Feedly.

Available through: PodBean, Apple iTunes,  YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM. ListenNotes,  Podchaser, Boomplay

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, January 24th.

This week, we’re tracking a sharp escalation in surveillance and enforcement powers—from a B.C. municipality openly challenging a privacy watchdog’s authority to U.S. immigration officers asserting the right to enter homes without a judge’s warrant.

We’re also looking at how access-to-information requests continue to expose gaps in oversight—whether that’s contaminated land in Ontario, the limits of Canada’s whistleblower protections, or the growing pressure on public transparency as AI, trade, and national security collide.

And internationally, we’ll examine how internet shutdowns and connected-car technologies are reshaping privacy and access to information far beyond Canada’s borders.

Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20260124-access-and-privacy-online

Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2026-season-episode-04

FIPA Bill C-4

• UPDATED Call to Action: https://fipa.bc.ca/bill-c-4-2025/

• FIPA Bill C-4 Part 4 Dashboard: https://fipa.bc.ca/fipa-bill-c-4-part-4-dashboard/

• Bill C-4 Part 4 line-by-line and brief: https://fipa.bc.ca/bill-c-4-part-4-line-by-line-and-brief/

Support these efforts by subscribing or donating.

Send comments to FIPAOnline@fipa.bc.ca

Our Contributors:

Writing: Shaun Fisk | Production: Patrick Farnsworth | Music: Breakmaster Cylinder

Access and Privacy Online: https://fipa.bc.ca/research-resources/podcasts/access-and-privacy-online/

News stories through the Canadian Press and Feedly.

Available through: PodBean, Apple iTunes,  YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM. ListenNotes,  Podchaser, Boomplay

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, January 17th.

We’re starting the year with a heavy focus on access to information and what happens when transparency fails or is actively resisted.

This week, access requests uncover troubling gaps in domestic-violence prosecutions in Nunavut, reveal why a Parks Canada boat ban blindsided communities in Manitoba, and expose how billions of public dollars tied to Brampton’s electric-bus plans remain almost entirely redacted.

We’ll also look at growing privacy concerns—from Manitoba’s new digital ID wallet to failures in protecting tenants’ personal information—and whistleblower-driven stories involving police misconduct and university governance.

Then, we turn south, where the Trump administration is again testing the limits of federal power—using funding threats, data demands, and political pressure in ways that raise serious privacy and democratic concerns.

And finally, from CES, a cautionary look at how AI-powered consumer devices are collecting more personal data than ever—often with little oversight.

Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20260117-access-and-privacy-online

Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2026-season-episode-03

FIPA Bill C-4:

• UPDATED Call to Action: https://fipa.bc.ca/bill-c-4-2025/
• FIPA Bill C-4 Part 4 Dashboard: https://fipa.bc.ca/fipa-bill-c-4-part-4-dashboard/
• Bill C-4 Part 4 line-by-line and brief: https://fipa.bc.ca/bill-c-4-part-4-line-by-line-and-brief/

Support these efforts by subscribing or donating.

Send comments to FIPAOnline@fipa.bc.ca

Our Contributors:

Writing: Shaun Fisk | Production: Patrick Farnsworth | Music: Breakmaster Cylinder

Access and Privacy Online: https://fipa.bc.ca/research-resources/podcasts/access-and-privacy-online/

News stories through the Canadian Press and Feedly.

Available through: PodBean, Apple iTunes,  YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM. ListenNotes,  Podchaser, Boomplay