Supreme Court of Canada Rules IP Addresses Should Receive Privacy Protection
The Supreme Court of Canada states that police must have judicial authorization to obtain a computer’s internet protocol address, as it is considered a key link between a person and their online activities.
This landmark decision was made on Mar. 1 in a case that originated in 2017 when Calgary police were investigating fraudulent online transactions from a liquor store.
The third-party payment processor of the store voluntarily provided police with two IP addresses, which are numerical identifiers assigned by internet service providers.
Subsequently, the police obtained a production order that compelled the service provider to disclose the names and addresses of the customers associated with the IP addresses.
This led the police to obtain warrants to search two homes, resulting in the arrest of Andrei Bykovets, who was later convicted on multiple charges.
The trial judge initially dismissed the argument that the police request for IP addresses infringed upon Bykovets’ Charter guarantee against unreasonable search and seizure.
