The benefits of technology are in the eyes — and, in this case, the ears — of the beholder, as police departments in Calgary, Edmonton, and other Canadian cities may soon have technology with the power to block cellphone communications. Currently, only the RCMP is authorized to use the call-jamming technology, using it, for example, to monitor and jam illegal calls out of and into prisons to detect drug dealing and drug use in the facilities. Unauthorized usage is prohibited under the federal Radiocommunication Act and carries fines of up to $25,000. In a legal brief, the Department of Industry (DOI) wrote, “Allowing certain other law enforcement agencies to use jammers will decrease their dependency on the RCMP and empower them to fulfill their operational requirements.” If approved, expanding use of the technology would give police agencies permission to jam phone signals in the name of national security, public safety, and criminal investigations, according to the DOI. If it’s going to catch the bad guys so they can be locked up, we all should be in favour of the plan, but safeguards to protect Canadians have yet to be settled. The technology does not distinguish between bad guys’ phones and those of law-abiding Canadians, with the potential to cause serious problems. The jamming affects all phones in the area where police are using it, preventing emergency calls to police, fire, or ambulance services and also disrupting important business calls or calls about family matters..As we have witnessed with technology, particularly social media, it is open to abuse and misuse, and with the regulations not yet fully approved, the DOI must ensure that abuse and misuse of this technology are prevented. The regulations must answer several questions: What level of police authority is required to order a signal blackout, and must the decision be justified in writing? Who will be authorized to initiate the action? What level of threat justifies it? How long can it last? What records must be kept? Will affected people have any remedy if the power is misused? Will police at the scene be required to get permission to use the technology from higher-ups? Who holds police accountable? Will there be independent reviews, public reporting, and meaningful consequences if the power is misused by cops going rogue? What happens when an innocent person cannot call 911, report a crime, or communicate during an emergency? Will there be a post-use reporting procedure from the police when communications are disrupted, including any resulting harm? Will there be legal ramifications from disruptions that prevent calls to 911 or interfere with online banking, payment terminals, business communications, transportation, security systems, and other services? Regardless of the $25,000 fine, what steps will be taken to prevent the bad guys from getting their hands on the technology and using it to commit crimes with less fear of getting caught? Perhaps of greatest concern is censorship. .Our phones are extremely important tools for exercising the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and freedom of association. Purposely blocking signals during a protest or demonstration could prevent people from sharing information, documenting police conduct, contacting lawyers, or telling others where they are. What prevents a power intended to identify and prevent illegal activities or exceptional emergencies from being used during ordinary arrests, demonstrations, or other controversial police operations? Another question is the legality. Jamming a phone signal is different from obtaining a warrant to trace a suspect's communications. The former disrupts connectivity; the latter concerns access to communications and is governed by separate legal rules. Certainly, using the technology in serious situations where confrontation could be deadly is a strong reason to implement it, even if it disrupts legal communications for a short period of time. As it stands, the new regulations are just a proposal that needs to be validated, according to the DOI, which adds that the proposal comes on the heels of discussions with police departments across the country about their abilities to operate the required equipment to disrupt communications between cellphones and wireless towers. Down south, similar restrictions on unauthorized cellphone communications were pursued, and in 2021, the US Federal Communications Commission authorized measures allowing state prisons to use cellphone-jamming technology to combat contraband wireless devices. The technology comes with serious implications, and officials must be accountable to Canadians for getting it right.
