Google Urges Changes to Canada's Bill C-22 Lawful Access Proposal

Google has urged the federal government to make further changes to Bill C-22, a proposal that would give police and Canada's spy agency new ways to obtain information from tech companies. In a briefing note sent to Canadian senators, the company proposed amendments to protect encryption, the scrambling of messages so that only senders and recipients can read them. The Globe and Mail reported the note.

The bill, which may be cited as the Lawful Access Act, 2026, would allow the government to require companies to keep certain categories of metadata, including transmission data, for up to six months. Metadata is information about a communication, not its content. According to the federal government's lawful access page, the bill would not treat a person's history of web and social media activity, or the content of an exchange, as metadata.

The bill would also require electronic service providers to change their systems so they can offer surveillance and monitoring capabilities to police services and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, known as CSIS.

Google has raised several objections. It warned that, as currently worded, the bill would allow Ottawa to create a "new surveillance infrastructure." The company also said blanket data-retention demands would treat users as "potential criminals." Its briefing paper states that the framework for mandating technical changes would undermine transparency and due process.

Google also pointed to secrecy. The bill would require tech companies operating in Canada to keep any ministerial orders they receive confidential. The company proposed amendments to curb the minister's power to issue secret orders requiring changes to a company's systems.

Other companies have voiced concerns too. Apple and Meta have expressed misgivings about the bill. Signal has warned that it would withdraw its services from Canada if asked to compromise users' privacy. In May, Republican members of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee warned Canada that the bill could pose privacy risks.

The government has defended the bill. Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree's spokesperson, Simon Lafortune, said the bill does not authorize indiscriminate surveillance. A federal backgrounder said Part 2 of the bill does not create new powers for police and CSIS to intercept communications or obtain information. The bill also clarifies that its new demand power does not displace police's existing ability to ask questions about basic information, according to the Department of Justice.

Under the bill, ministerial orders would require independent approval from the Intelligence Commissioner, and they could be subject to judicial review, a court's examination of whether a government decision was lawful.