Tory critic asks privacy commissioner to investigate hack of Freedom Convoy fundraising site

OTTAWA – The Conservative critic for ethics and accountable government says he has asked the privacy commissioner to investigate the hacking of a crowdfunding platform that raised money for convoy protests and blockades.  

Tory MP James Bezan says the “blatant breach of privacy” of Canadian donors has led to doxxing campaigns, identification of personal and business addresses and targeted harassment.  

In February, Christian crowdfunding site GiveSendGo was reportedly hacked and data on donors was provided to transparency group Distributed Denial of Secrets, which made the data available to newsrooms and researchers.  

Later today, an Ontario court will hear about the handling of GiveSendGo donated funds and the transfer of funds from key convoy figures into escrow.  

The appearance is part of an extended freezing order on all donated funds to the so-called freedom convoy, as a class-action civil suit against the convoy continues.  

The lawsuit seeks damages related to the three-week convoy protest outside Parliament Hill that snarled traffic, shuttered businesses and plagued residents with near-constant honking.  

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This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship. 

Feature image by iStock.com/Baris-Ozer