Digital rights groups urge EU action over Canada’s Bill C-22

Digital rights advocates are urging the European Union to intervene against Canada’s Bill C-22, also known as the Lawful Access Act. They say the proposed legislation could force technology companies to build surveillance capabilities that would let authorities access digital information during investigations.

Access Now and a coalition of European civil society organizations have published an open letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and other EU officials. The groups warn that Bill C-22’s data-retention mandates and surveillance requirements could compromise the privacy of people worldwide.

The coalition says the bill could reach European companies whose platforms are used in Canada, including providers with no Canadian users if they belong to corporate groups doing business there. It warns that Canadian authorities could secretly order a European company to weaken the security of products used across the EU.

Access Now’s Namrata Maheshwari said the bill could normalize excessive surveillance powers. The groups argue that weakening encryption for one target would create vulnerabilities across entire systems.

Google has also warned that the law could undermine end-to-end encryption. Companies including Signal, Apple, Windscribe, ExpressVPN, NordVPN, and ProtonVPN have opposed the legislation. The Canadian Senate could conclude its study of Bill C-22 as early as October 2026.