The Case:
R. v. Bykovets, 2024 SCC 6 In short: REP in your IP. The Bottom Line: Per Karakatsanis, Martin, Kasirer, Jamal and Moreau JJ.: In the contemporary digital era, Section 8 of the Charter needs to safeguard Canadians’ online privacy effectively, which includes protecting their IP addresses. IP addresses serve as the vital connection between an individual’s online actions and their identity, thus warranting a reasonable expectation of privacy. Consequently, any state request for an IP address constitutes a search under Section 8 of the Charter. Practice Point: There are likely many cases currently in the system in which ITOs were premised on IP addresses obtained without judicial authorization. Applying the doctrine of automatic excision -- recently reaffirmed in R. v. Zacharias -- the IP address must be excised from such a warrant leaving it bereft of the requisite RPG.
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