The Aleph Bet: Debating Metaphors for Information, Data Handling And the Right to be Forgotten

Court rulings in the European Union (EU) have now established that individuals may seek erasure of personal information posted online. Typically, this involves de-indexing a website from search results, and in some instances the removal of content from primary sources sites. This has, in turn, led to debate around both the logistics and the unintended consequences of removing information online, and subsequent discussions have grappled with a range of images and metaphors to map that new legal reality. This essay surveys that debate, the imagery it employs, and the various logics associated with these metaphors

The Aleph Bet: Debating Metaphors for Information, Data Handling And the Right to be Forgotten

Court rulings in the European Union (EU) have now established that individuals may seek erasure of personal information posted online. Typically, this involves de-indexing a website from search results, and in some instances the removal of content from primary sources sites. This has, in turn, led to debate around both the logistics and the unintended consequences of removing information online, and subsequent discussions have grappled with a range of images and metaphors to map that new legal reality. This essay surveys that debate, the imagery it employs, and the various logics associated with these metaphors

2015: 24th Annual John K. Friesen Conference "Harnessing Technology for Aging-in-Place" May 14-15, 2015: SESSION 10 - Panel 7 – Surveillance and Monitoring

Panel 7 – Surveillance and Monitoring Chair: Martha Jane Lewis, Executive Director, BC Centre for Elder Advocacy and Support Wendy Johnstone, BC Caregivers Network Micheal Vonn, BC Civil Liberties Association Al Jina, President, Park Place Seniors Livin

Panel on C-51 - The "Anti-Terror" Bill

This panel addresses the implications of Bill C-51, the so-called "Anti-Terror" Bill, for the future of democratic institutions in this country

Overlapping Crises and Community Responses — with Micheal Vonn

Micheal Vonn, from the PHS Community Services Society, joins Am Johal to discuss the relation between overdose prevention initiatives with different health policies at different stages of the pandemic. This is a conversation about how policies may not take into account marginalized, at risk groups, especially in the context of crises, whether for a pandemic, or for climate change resiliency. As someone with extensive experience in law and public health, Micheal ends the discussion by talking about how the narrative framing of crises as concerns of security leads to different policy outcomes.&nbsp

The impact of criminalization of HIV non-disclosure on the healthcare engagement of women living with HIV in Canada:a comprehensive review of the evidence

Introduction In 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that people living with HIV (PLWH) must disclose their HIV status to sexual partners prior to sexual activity that poses a “realistic possibility” of HIV transmission for consent to sex to be valid. The Supreme Court deemed that the duty to disclose could be averted if a person living with HIV both uses a condom and has a low plasma HIV-1 RNA viral load during vaginal sex. This is one of the strictest legal standards criminalizing HIV non-disclosure worldwide and has resulted in a high rate of prosecutions of PLWH in Canada. Public health advocates argue that the overly broad use of the criminal law against PLWH undermines efforts to engage individuals in healthcare and complicates gendered barriers to linkage and retention in care experienced by women living with HIV (WLWH). Methods We conducted a comprehensive review of peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed evidence published between 1998 and 2015 evaluating the impact of the criminalization of HIV non-disclosure on healthcare engagement of WLWH in Canada across key stages of the cascade of HIV care, specifically: HIV testing and diagnosis, linkage and retention in care, and adherence to antiretroviral therapy. Where available, evidence pertaining specifically to women was examined. Where these data were lacking, evidence relating to all PLWH in Canada or other international jurisdictions were included. Results and discussion Evidence suggests that criminalization of HIV non-disclosure may create barriers to engagement and retention within the cascade of HIV care for PLWH in Canada, discouraging access to HIV testing for some people due to fears of legal implications following a positive diagnosis, and compromising linkage and retention in healthcare through concerns of exposure of confidential medical information. There is a lack of published empirical evidence focused specifically on women, which is a concern given the growing population of WLWH in Canada, among whom marginalized and vulnerable women are overrepresented. Conclusions The threat of HIV non-disclosure prosecution combined with a heightened perception of surveillance may alter the environment within which women engage with healthcare services. Fully exploring the extent to which HIV criminalization represents a barrier to the healthcare engagement of WLWH is a public health priority