Ottawa is being urged to take a harder line as countries such as China and Iran increasingly turn to digital technologies to target activists and dissidents living outside their borders, including in Canada.
The call for action is contained in a new report by internet watchdog Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs, which also raises concerns about a lack of support for those targeted by such digital repression tactics.
“The Canadian government has to take action to help prevent these abuses and to protect targeted Canadian communities,” reads the 38-page report released Tuesday.
“A number of gaps exist in policy and law on these issues, which the Canadian government must begin to address.”
The Citizen Lab report is the latest to raise concerns about a proliferation of digital technology that has made it easier for foreign governments to crack down or otherwise target dissidents in Canada, many of whom arrived here as refugees and immigrants.
To make the point, it details the experiences of 18 individuals who moved or fled to Canada and later reported being targeted or attacked through various digital means, including hacking, online tracking, social media harassment and smear campaigns.
Such tactics are “rapidly becoming a cornerstone” of foreign repression efforts, the report adds, in part because of their low cost, difficulty to detect and trace, and associated deniability.
Among those interviewed by the Citizen Lab were former journalists, human-rights advocates and pro-democracy activists from China, Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Rwanda and Afghanistan, among others.
Participants described a variety of impacts on their mental, social and physical health from being targeted, including fears for their safety and the safety of those who they are communicating with in their native countries, and a “chilling effect” on their advocacy work.
“Digital transnational repression has a serious impact on these communities, including their ability to undertake transnational advocacy work related to human rights,” reads the report.
“Yet there is little support for victims who experience such targeting and policy efforts by the Canadian government to date have been insufficient.”
It was not only their own organizations that provided a lack of support, but also the government, as law enforcement and cybersecurity agencies offered mixed responses when incidents were reported to them.
Ottawa’s failure to address the issue “is troubling considering the Trudeau government purports to welcome migrants and refugees to Canada and has made the promotion of democracy and human rights a cornerstone of its political platform,” the report adds.
To that end, the researchers lay out several measures for the government to get a handle on the situation, starting with clear statements and policies establishing the importance of protecting activist and dissident communities in Canada.
They also call for the government to look at how Canadian law and targeted sanctions could be used against perpetrators, and demand more transparency and stronger export rules for companies that deal in such technologies.
The Citizen Lab report also envisions a dedicated government agency to support victims and conduct research on such activity in Canada, a hotline to report incidents, and discussions with social media companies about such activity.
“While the government has begun to address the threat of foreign interference in Canada … its focus has primarily been on digital threats related to Canadian democratic institutions, economic interests and critical infrastructure,” the report reads.
“The protection of the rights and freedoms of migrants and refugees appears to be of little concern.”
