Mr. Ward’s "Unreasonable" Expectation Of Privacy Towards Data Held By His ISP

Is the anonymity of the Internet user unconditionally protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms' legal strongbox? In R. v. Ward, 2012 ONCA 660, the Court of Appeal for Ontario determined that it is not always the case and that there are limits to an Internet users' reasonable expectation of privacy.

In this case, Mr. Ward's expectation of privacy in his name and address held by his Internet Service Provider (ISP) was considered "unreasonable" in the context of an investigation for crimes of possession and trafficking of child pornography.

The RCMP's Information Request

The police, in the course of investigating child pornography crimes on the Internet, sometimes request and receive the names and addresses of customers from ISPs. These requests typically follow a protocol developed by the police and ISPs, and are made without seeking prior judicial authorization.