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Vancouver, 17 March 2005

Privacy and Prepaid Communication Services

The Centre for Policy Research on Science and Technology (CPROST) at Simon Fraser University invites your comments on privacy rights and anonymous prepaid mobile phone services in Canada.

Background on the Issue

1. Mobile telephone service has grown rapidly since its introduction in the 1990s, with much of that success due to the widespread appeal of prepaid (pay-as-you-go) plans. Today, about 3.2-million Canadians have opted for prepaid mobile phone service and over the next decade it is expected that prepaid service will continue to maintain a significant share of the total mobile phone market in Canada.

2. A public interest issue associated with prepaid services is the possibility of anonymous ownership and use of a mobile phone. Concerns regarding privacy and anonymity have centered on a debate about requirements to collect information from mobile phone customers at the point of purchase. In Canada, prepaid mobile phone users do not have to be registered in a subscriber database, do not require a credit check and have the benefit of using a product that is simple, easy to purchase and provides a degree of anonymity for customers.

3. This element of anonymity has been identified as a potential threat to emergency services and national security, particularly in their ongoing efforts to ensure public safety and to maintain public order. In response to this challenge, a number of countries including Australia and Switzerland have banned the sale of anonymous prepaid mobile phone service.

4. However, at this point in time there is little hard evidence to suggest that eliminating anonymous prepaid services reduces crime or provides definitive benefits to law enforcement or national security. Some say that the collection of customer information is a costly and ineffective strategy that violates Canada’s existing privacy legislation.

5. The collection of customer information by telecommunications service providers in Canada falls under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPED Act) and the Privacy Commissioner of Canada has provided comment on this specific issue.

6. In 2003, the CRTC overturned an interim ruling that had required wireless service providers to collect and verify customer information at the point of purchase (CRTC Telecom Decision 2003-53).

The Research Study

7. The Centre for Policy Research on Science and Technology (CPROST) at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada is now conducting a research study into this issue, with the aim of promoting an informed public policy on the matter.

8. The study is funded by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and the principal investigator for the project is Dr. Gordon Gow. Dr. Gow is a Research Associate with CPROST and full-time faculty member in the Department of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Dr. Gow is a Canadian citizen.

9. On 27 January 2005, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada issued a press release announcing the study.

Study Methodology

10. The primary aim of this study is gain a better understanding of the regulatory treatment of prepaid services in a number of similar countries by conducting a comparative survey of the OECD member states.

11. Regulatory agencies and other organizations in these countries will be asked to respond to a series of questions regarding domestic privacy legislation, lawful access requirements, and the regulation of prepaid communications services.

Request for Comments

12. In conjunction with the international survey, CPROST invites Canadian organizations and members of the public to comment on the planned study and, more generally, on the issue of privacy rights and prepaid mobile phone service in Canada.

13. Specific matters of interest to this study include the following:

14. What is the justification and related evidence to support regulatory measures to eliminate or protect the sale of anonymous prepaid communications services in Canada?

15. What is the feasibility of implementing and enforcing regulatory measures intended to eliminate the sale of anonymous prepaid communications services in Canada?

16. If such measures are not considered feasible, then what type of alternative measures might be adopted to achieve similar ends?

17. If anonymous prepaid communication services are permitted, then what impact might this have on the robustness and practical value of any form of integrated public number database in Canada, either planned or envisioned?

Procedure

18. Canadian organizations and members of the public are invited to comment on the questions set forth above or on other issues directly related privacy and anonymous prepaid mobile phones. Parties that wish to contribute their views to the study should mail, fax, or email their comments to the following address:

Privacy and Prepaid Mobile Phone Study
Centre for Policy Research on Science and Technology
Simon Fraser University
515 West Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC Canada V6B 5K3
Fax: 1 604 291 5239
Email: g.gow@lse.ac.uk

The Centre for Policy Research on Science and Technology is part of the School of Communication at Simon Fraser University. Established in 1988, CPROST projects engage in research on the relationship between public policy and technology.

Dr. Gordon Gow is a Research Associate with CPROST. His full-time post is Lecturer in the Department of Media and Communications and Director of the MSc Programme in Media and Communications Policy and Regulation at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

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