Warrantless Access To Identity Of Internet User Amounts To Unreasonable Search

On June 13, 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada rendered a key decision in R v. Spencer upholding the right to privacy on the Internet. The Court held that Internet users can reasonably expect that their anonymously undertaken Internet activities remain confidential. It also decided that the authorities' practice of asking Internet service providers ("ISPs") to disclose information about their clients pursuant to Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act ("PIPEDA") without a warrant amounted to an unlawful search.

The Spencer decision marks an important development in the protection of privacy in Canada. It is the first decision from the Canadian Supreme Court to establish, in such clear terms, that the searching, by authorities, of data allowing them to find personal information by inference is subject to the fundamental right to privacy.