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Freedom of Expression and the Public's Right to Know

Genuine democracy, advancement of knowledge, individual self-development, and social justice depend on a society in which freedom of expression and the right to know are a reality for everyone. The Centre for Free Expression works to advance these rights though public education, advocacy, law reform, research, advisory services, policy analysis, assistance to courts, and organizational collaborations.

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Video January 24, 2019

Whose Data and Whose City?

The deal between Google-affiliate Sidewalk Labs and Waterfront Toronto for a ‘smart city’ district on waterfront lands raises serious public issues about who will govern the massive amount of data generated from the integral surveillance proposed.
Internet and Social Media
Blog December 4, 2018

Public Lands, Private Control, and Housing Needs in the "Smart City" Quayside Development

For over a year, Google’s Sidewalk Labs has flooded the Internet with watercolour images of bits of a future ‘smart city’ neighbourhood in Toronto’s Quayside district. But unlike normal developers, Sidewalk Labs has yet to make a complete and formal application to the planning department and city council. And citizens do not have any details about the business plan for the proposed development.
Mariana Valverde
Internet and Social Media