Originally Posted by
stevenshev
As a matter of fact, it IS an indictable offense in Canada, and likely is in the United States as well.
I refer you to the Canadian Criminal Code, specifically [R.S., 1985, c. C-46] Part XI s. 430, subsections 1.1 for the definition of the offence, and subsection 4(a) for clarification of its status as indictable, and of the related prison sentence (i.e. two years).
Best not to argue law with lawyers.
In case you don't have access to the resources, let me snip it for you:
(1.1) Every one commits mischief who wilfully
(a) destroys or alters data;
(b) renders data meaningless, useless or ineffective;
(c) obstructs, interrupts or interferes with the lawful use of data; or
(d) obstructs, interrupts or interferes with any person in the lawful use of data or denies access to data to any person who is entitled to access thereto.
(4) Every one who commits mischief in relation to property, other than property described in subsection (3),
(a) is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years;
Interesting find...well firstly, they need prove that I deliberately destroyed the tag....absent cutting or burn marks, that will be almost impossible for them to prove.
Secondly, Canada has no jurisdiction over me as a non resident. They cannot control my movements, tax me, or do anything else unless I am on their soil.
As for the legal information above - then I plead guilty as charged. I have violated that statute consistently for years by using fake names, fake addresses and other misleading information to destabalize and disorient the various databases that hold information on me. My ultimate goal is to fill the records linked to me with so much garbage that a simple database querry in the future will come back with pages of useless unrelated data. Since I once had access to the records held on me at Seisnt, I have a good idea as to what they are looking for and linking, so it's not too hard to figure out ways to defeat their logic as you go.
Applying the practices of the US government to how Canada does things is misleading - their reach is not as broad nor as aggressive. As a staunch civil libertarian, I hold that I fall outside their jurisdiction and they have no need to know when/where/why I travel. The US has jurisdiction over me now, and although my libertarian feelings are uncomfortable with the level of tracking and tracing going on here, I follow the law - although I won't make it easy for them.
Disabling the RFID tag is a matter of personal security more than liberty. I don't want to be walking down a street in a foreign country while someone with a tag reader is able to pull my name and nationality off the passport sitting in my napsack and then use that information against me in some way. It's only common sense.
Also, to clear up any misconceptions, my passport is not made by hand in such a way that it was actually written out by hand - "made by hand" in this context was meant to describe the Consular officer using their local equipment to type out my information and seal my photo into the document instead of the printers/sealers that produce the passports in their central office. It's not actually written out or printed by hand.