Photographer: Wilfred Iven
“Canadians who make large cash transactions, international wire transfers or win big at the casino could end up with a federal agency scrutinizing their Facebook pages and other social media posts, CBC News has learned.
The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre (FINTRAC), the federal government body charged with monitoring financial transactions to detect money laundering and terrorist financing, has been quietly scrutinizing the social media posts of Canadians whose transactions attract its attention.,” wrote Elizabeth Thompson for CBC News on Sunday March 12, 2017.
Thompson continued, “FINTRAC defends the practice, saying the rules that govern it allow it to collect a variety of information.
“FINTRAC’s mandate is to detect, deter and prevent money laundering and terrorist financing activity,” spokesperson Renée Bercier wrote in response to questions from CBC News.
“It is important to remember that the perpetrators of these crimes oftentimes have an online presence and actively use the web, including social media, to connect with associates, facilitate their activities and, in the case of terrorism financing, even raise funds.”
Privacy concerns raised
However, privacy advocates and NDP MP Daniel Blaikie say that just because something is publicly available doesn’t mean that it’s fair game for government bodies to scrutinize or monitor.”
Read the full article here.
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