The Supreme Court of Canada ruled against hearing former UBC Staff member Ian Linkletter’s anti-SLAPP application against Proctorio.
This case began in September 2020 when Proctorio filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against then-UBC staff member, Linkletter, for tweets where he linked unlisted Youtube videos from Proctorio which explained how the company's proctoring software worked and shared a screenshot from its help center.
UBC used Proctorio during the pandemic to invigilate online exams but restricted it in March of 2021 over ethical concerns.
In response to Proctorio's initial suit, Linkletter and his legal team filed an anti-strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) application in October 2020. Linkletter argued Proctorio's lawsuit was groundless and an attempt to silence him.
The BC Supreme Court decided against Linkletter's suit in a March 2022 ruling, which he appealed in July of that year. The alleged errors in judgement were deciding Linkletter had breached his obligation of confidence to Proctorio, that there was substantial merit to Proctorio's copyright claims and that Proctorio had demonstrated the harm experienced from Linkletter's tweets outweighed the public's interest in protecting Linkletter's expression.
The BC Court of Appeals decided in April to uphold the initial judgement, leading to Linkletter's filing to the Supreme Court of Canada.
In a statement following the Supreme Court decision, Linkletter wrote “I feel let down by the Protection of Public Participation Act (PPPA) … it has been ineffective in protecting freedom of expression.”
He wrote “If I could change one thing about the PPPA, it would be to strengthen the requirement to prove harm caused by the expressions at issue.”
Linkletter wrote it is hard to see the purpose of filing an anti-SLAPP application when they are rarely successful.
“I had hoped today would be the beginning of the end, but instead it is only the end of the beginning. I have no sense of when this will be over and I will be free from the burden of this unjust, unmeritorious lawsuit."
Despite this, Linkletter does not regret his decision and wrote “It’s my duty, and I will never stop. I will continue to do everything in my power to work against academic surveillance technologies and end their harm against students.”
This dismissal means Proctorio is able to pursue its original suit against Linkletter.
The Ubyssey did not hear back from Proctorio by publishing time.