Friends, I have great news.

The Supreme Court of British Columbia’s judgment from the April 29th hearing was published this morning. I couldn’t be happier. The Court stopped Proctorio’s application to expand their SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) into my private communications. I encourage you to read the judgment for yourself on the BC Courts website: https://www.bccourts.ca/jdb-txt/sc/21/11/2021BCSC1154.htm

Proctorio was stopped from trying to invade my private communications. They were stopped from trying to use my employer’s policies against me. With today’s victory, they have been stopped from trying to expand their lawsuit in order to avoid a dismissal order under the Protection of Public Participation Act (PPPA).

Thank YOU so much, always, for donating to my legal defence fund. My first day in court would never have taken place without the support from almost 1000 donors. Your generosity funded the tireless work of my brilliant legal team at Arvay Finlay LLP. Today was our first shared victory, but it won’t be our last. I know this to be true, because…

I am thrilled to announce that AAPS, the Association of Administrative + Professional Staff at UBC, HAS AGREED TO FUND MY LEGAL DEFENCE!

I have been a member of AAPS for almost 10 years, and have benefited from their advocacy and collective bargaining. Thank you to the AAPS Board of Directors, who voted unanimously to fund my defence going forward. I thank all 5,000+ members of AAPS, many of whom already expressed support, for being a part of this.

This is an immeasurable relief to me and my family. Instead of worrying every month about how we’re going to pay my legal bills, I can focus on winning the overall case, on continuing to advocate for student safety and well-being, and on taking care of my family and myself during these summer months. A weight has been lifted.

With this funding secured, I am pausing contributions to this campaign. As I promised you on October 16th, 2020, if Proctorio is ordered to pay full legal indemnity costs, the entire proceeds from this campaign will be donated to the BCCLA (British Columbia Civil Liberties Association). I will continue to share updates about the case with you through GoFundMe.

You can also follow me on Twitter where I will be continuing my criticism of Proctorio and academic surveillance software: https://www.twitter.com/Linkletter

The PPPA hearing is scheduled to proceed on July 26th-29th, 2021. Maybe we will have more victories to celebrate by then.

Sincerely,

Ian Linkletter