Sept. 15, 2021

Professor appointed to public safety panel

Professor Emily Laidlaw has been appointed to the Expert Panel on Public Safety in the Digital Age.

Professor Emily Laidlaw, who holds a Canada Research Chair in Cybersecurity Law, has been appointed to the Council of Canadian Academies' (CCA) Expert Panel on Public Safety in the Digital Age. The panel, established at the request of Public Safety Canada, as a goal to examine leading practices that could help address risks to public safety while respecting human rights and privacy.

Emily joins researchers, legal and security experts from around across Canada and around the globe in the task of asking the over-arching question "Considering the impact that advances in information and communications technologies have had on a global scale, what do current evidence and knowledge suggest regarding promising and leading practices that could be applied in Canada for investigating, preventing, and countering threats to public safety while respecting human rights and privacy?"

“We are at a critical moment in the protection of public safety from cybercrimes and threats," says Laidlaw. "Rapid technological development, an increasingly connected society, have all amplified the risks and forms of harms. How to protect the public from harm while also safeguarding human rights is one of the biggest challenges we face.”

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