Supreme Court broadens cyber-privacy to include IP addresses: 5 business takeaways from Bykovets
Mere hours after it was issued on March 1, 2024, the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Bykovets was already making rounds in the dailies and on social media, leaving no doubt that Internet privacy remains a hot topic. In a 5-4 majority decision, the Court ruled that requiring businesses to voluntarily disclose IP addresses without a production order, in the context of criminal and penal investigations, is a violation of the constitutional protection from unreasonable search and seizure under section 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.