Canada’s Bill C-22: Encryption, Lawful Access, and Systemic Risk
Show notes
Canada’s Bill C-22 tries to frame lawful access as a bounded public-safety tool, but its technical-capability requirements keep the central encryption question alive: can exceptional access exist without creating a security weakness that someone else will eventually exploit?
Tom Eston and Scott Wright discuss Canada’s proposed Lawful Access Act, the bill’s systemic-vulnerability safeguard, existing warrant processes, and why implementation details determine whether an exceptional-access scheme becomes a risk for everyone.
Special thanks to Guardsquare for sponsoring this episode! Guardsquare is the leader in mobile application security, with multi-layered protection for your Android and iOS apps. Learn more at Guardsquare.com.
** Links mentioned on the show **
Mozilla — Canada’s bill C-22 threatens encryption, users’ privacy and the security of digital economies
https://blog.mozilla.org/netpolicy/2026/10/08/canadas-bill-c-22-threatens-encryption-users-privacy-and-the-security-of-digital-economies/
Parliament of Canada — Bill C-22, Lawful Access Act, 2026
https://www.parl.ca/legisinfo/en/bill/45-1/c-22?view=progress
Parliament of Canada — Bill C-22 first reading
https://www.parl.ca/documentviewer/en/45-1/bill/C-22/first-reading
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