Tag: canadian privacy law

Canadian Privacy Law 101: A quick overview for those who missed the June 2014 Supreme Court Decision

January 27, 2015

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Forward: Pretty much all of us have heard or know that privacy rights no longer exist in the United States. Gone, finished, beyond recourse (except through using end-to-end encryption techniques ; however the NSA can probably still secretly grab your screenshot or logged keystrokes or live microphone through a backdoor partnership with Microsoft and Apple). Any per-existing privacy laws have been overwritten by new creepier laws that have paved the way for absolute intrusion into the American people’s personal world by their out-of-control government. Even if there are a few scraps of privacy protection in the states, it has become clear that any such laws are completely ignored by large and sophisticated spy organizations such as a the NSA. Edward Snowden’s whistle-blowing reports are a case in point. But did you know our home country of Canada has some of the most protective laws regarding internet privacy in the world, at least on paper? Our nation even has appointed a “Privacy Commissioner”: The Commissioner is currently Daniel Therrien. He was appointed on June 5, 2014. [ There have been eight Privacy Commissioners since the office was established in 1977. ] You even have the right to contact him or his office with your own related personal privacy concerns, anytime. More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privacy_Commissioner_of_Canada Here is his youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/PrivacyComm The first incarnation of a privacy law came in 1977 when the Canadian government introduced data protection provisions into the Canadian Human Rights Act. read_more Then in 1982 The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms stated that Canadians have "the right to life, liberty and security of the person" and "the right to be free from unreasonable search or seizure"; but strangely avoided using the word ‘privacy’. The following year, in 1983, the Federal Privacy Act regulated how federal government collects, passes around and utilizes people’s personal information. In the 90’s and 2000’s, other privacy legislation placed restrictions on the archival, the use and disclosure of citizen’s personal information by territorial and provincial governments, and likewise also by companies and institutions within the private sector. The latest ruling to emerge out of this fray is the recent June 2014 Canadian Supreme Court...

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Thank goodness for Canadian privacy law!

November 25, 2014

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Do you ever feel like somebody is watching your back (and not your computer screen) when you are on the internet? Well Canada’s privacy law is still protecting you when you are online surfing. Our fellow Canadian Social media users are shielded from the complex details Terms of Service on many popular social services. Just because you are forced to check the many lengthy terms of service, that of course most of us don’t sit there for a half and hour and actually read, our privacy law trumps any provision that is against the grain of our current privacy law. "This overriding provision in our federal privacy legislation actually does provide protection for unexpected, unreasonable uses, even with consent," stated a Toronto-based lawyer and expert on internet law Barry Sookman. "So I actually think there is a standard here that applies that is fairly useful and is consumer friendly." “An organization may collect, use or disclose personal information only for purposes that a reasonable person would consider are appropriate in the circumstances." reads Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act. This means that "the person has to agree to the terms," Sookman said. "So a person who simply accesses a social networking site and hasn't seen or hasn't had a reasonable opportunity to review the terms wouldn't be bound by them." If the policy had terms that a reasonable person wouldn't consider appropriate, then those terms may not be binding. "There’s two good examples of when a service’s privacy policy wouldn't be enforceable: either when a person hasn’t been put on notice that there’s going to be a policy that’s binding, or when it’s an unreasonable term." Depending on the service, when somebody accesses their website, many website companies automatically collect basic information to know, for example, where people are coming from and to know if they are a returning visitor. Those kind of data collection is rather hidden and it is automated usually to facilitate the operation of their site. When data collection crosses the line: read_more Where there is some completely unexpected use of one's personal information, matters “may go over the line.”. "So the test in...

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