Ontario Court of Appeal Recognizes Tort of “Invasion of Seclusion”

In its recent ruling in Jones v Tsige, the Ontario Court of Appeal formally confirmed the existence of an actionable cause for invasion of seclusion. While the tort of appropriation of personality has long been recognized in Ontario, this appellate decision is the first in the province to give an unequivocal right of action based on breach of privacy. The court surveyed the relevant common law and statutory landscape in Ontario, other provinces, US, and Commonwealth, as well as Charter jurisprudence with respect to the protection of privacy rights. It concluded that “[r]ecognition of such a cause of action would amount to an incremental step that is consistent with the role of this court to develop the common law in a manner consistent with the changing needs of society”.

Read the rest of this entry »

Is SOPA Dead?

The story of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and its sister act, Protect IP Act (PIPA) has been an intriguing and increasingly polarizing one. As Sarit wrote a few days ago, the increasing pressure from tech companies has forced the White House to come out against certain provisions, such as the DNS blocking provision in SOPA and other measures that would “tamper” with the underlying security measures of internet infrastructure. Read the rest of this entry »

SOPA and PIPA: The White House Changes Its Stance

The explosion in major names denouncing  SOPA and PIPA (including giants of the internet like Google, Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and the Wikimedia foundation, who are all considering an unprecedented ‘blackout’ on January 18th) now has a new supporter in the name of the White House and the Obama administration.  Read the rest of this entry »