The Digital Tattoo Podcast

In this episode of the podcast, we speak to British Columbia's Information and Privacy Commissioner, Michael McEvoy. We discuss issues around privacy, access to information, education, and democracy. Listen to the full interview to find out about the potential privacy violations that might impact Canada's next federal election.

344390 As the government of Canada slowly prepares to embrace for the future of city building, one small plot of land races ahead to become the nation's first smart city. Sidewalk Labs, a subsidiary of Google’s parents company Alphabet Inc., is developing a proposal for 12 acres on the downtown Toronto waterfront. They’re proposing to harness the power of technology in order to optimize the urban environment and improve daily life for residents through vast data collection. But critics observe that Canada’s current legal framework doesn’t contain provisions to protect against the potential privacy violations that may occur from these new forms of embedded technology. The clock is ticking on the proposal and a decision about if Toronto's waterfront will become home to Canada's first smart city will be made within the year. This is: The City with Eyes.  In this episode, we review the history of the area that may become Canada's first smart city and talk about where the proposal stands today. Then, we speak with the Bianca Wylie, one of the most vocal critics of the process, to hear some of her concerns about the proposal. And finally, we talk with students on UBC's Vancouver campus to find out their thoughts about privacy and living within a smart city like the one being proposed in Toronto.

In this episode, we look into how the internet has become a place that demonstrates some of humanity's worst qualities. To understand these issues, we speak with Dr. Taylor Owen, hear the stories of survivors of revenge porn, and look into how the European Union is attempting to regulate the internet to help address some of these problems.

In this special episode of the Digital Tattoo Podcast, we sit down with the President of the University of British Columbia, Professor Santa Ono, to find out how he's been able to embrace social media and engage meaningfully with students, faculty, and staff.

As a continuation from our first episode, we continue exploring copyright and open access at Canadian Universities. We speak with the editors of the open access University of Toronto Medical Journal, a business lawyer who specializes in intellectual property, and the public lead of Creative Commons Canada. Through the lens of Aaron Swartz, a computer prodigy who took his own while facing up to 35-years in prison and $1 million in fines, this episode wonders about the future open access and how the internet has transformed notions of ownership in relation to intellectual property.