In R v Spencer, which dealt with informational
privacy relating to Internet service subscriber data in the hands
of third - party companies, Cromwell J, for the court, organized the
expectation of privacy analysis into four general areas: (1) the subject matter
of the alleged search; (2) the claimant's interest in the subject matter; (3) the claimant's subjective
expectation of privacy; and (4) whether this subjective
expectation of privacy was objectively
reasonable, having regard to the totality
of the circumstances.6 None
of these tests are inconsistent; they are articulations
of the
same overarching concerns grouped differently as suited to a particular inquiry.
The question
of whether or not a child in any particular circumstances had a
reasonable expectation for
privacy had to be determined by the court taking an objective view
of the matter: including the
reasonable expectations of his parents in those
same circumstances about whether or not their children's lives in a public place should remain private.