FREEDOM CONVOY FEVER: Social Media and the Reasonable Expectation of Privacy in the Artificially Intelligent Surveillance State

The 2022 “Freedom Convoy” in Ottawa attracted widespread attention across traditional and social media outlets as the demonstration evolved into a long-drawn-out standoff between protestors and state officials. In the ensuing aftermath, the outpour of images and videos that flooded social media during the protest were subsequently used by law enforcement to arrest and charge individuals involved. This inspired an examination of the constitutional status of these “seizures.” Using the Freedom Convoy as a backdrop, this paper examines the reasonable expectation of privacy in information shared on social media, beginning with a discussion of the influence that artificial intelligence and machine learning have on modern policing. A broad discussion of whether a reasonable expectation of privacy exists in this area of the law then follows, and the difficulty of overcoming the doctrine of abandonment in establishing a privacy interest is noted. The issue of abandonment is then re-evaluated in light of recent jurisprudence from the Supreme Court of Canada, as well as the Mosaic Theory of the Fourth Amendment from United States v. Maynard. A conclusion is then presented, and suggestions are made concerning future research efforts.