To shield digital works from unauthorised access and/or monitor their use, some copyright owners are utilising encryption and other Technological Protection Measures (TPMs). TPMs have not proven to be the magic bullet rights-holders had hoped they would be because they are subject to circumvention. To shore up the efficacy of TPMs in the U.S. the DMCA prohibits both circumventing TPMs and the devices that facilitate circumvention. Canada is now under considerable pressure to adopt measures similar to the DMCA—pressure that must be resisted.

The danger of over-broad anti-circumvention legislation such as the DMCA is that, while it may have some minor effect on commercial piracy, it can also prevent otherwise lawful activity such as fair dealing, accessing works in the public domain, archival preservation, time and format shifting, device interoperability and library lending. To achieve balance in the Copyright Act Canada must reject DMCA style amendments. Any effort to address the issue of circumvention/anti-circumvention must not limit the ability of users to by-pass measures that undermine personal privacy or statutory rights of access. In particular, the Copyright Act must not prohibit devices capable of circumventing TPMs, as such devices are often used for purposes that do not infringe copyright.