This brings us to Bill C-22, the Lawful Access Act, now before Parliament. Under the pretext of “public safety,” Bill C-22 would expand the federal government’s surveillance powers, and likely capture AI companies like OpenAI under its broad definition of “electronic service provider.” This could require these AI companies, along with other “core providers” like Rogers, Bell, Google and WhatsApp, to name only a few, to retain metadata for up to one year and build systems for rapid data handover when law enforcement presents a valid authorization.