Liberals open to shorter metadata rules but splitting bill ‘not an option’

The federal government on Tuesday said it is willing to shorten the time electronic service providers would be required to keep users’ metadata under a proposed lawful access bill, but is dismissing Conservative calls to split the controversial bill in two. The provision that could require service providers to retain certain metadata — including transmission and location data — for up to one year is included in Part 2 of Bill C-22, which has also prompted pushback from tech companies for measures they say could weaken encryption and security. That section has raised alarm from privacy experts …