I recently came across an article entitled “How Social Security numbers became Skeleton keys for fraudsters” which raises how, in the U.S., the Social Security number is overused and abused by hospitals, banks and even retailers, putting millions of Americans at risk of identity theft. The article goes on to explain how this number was […] Read more
The Supreme Court of Canada’s recent decision in Royal Bank of Canada v. Trang, (“Trang“) reviewed the obligations of financial institutions to preserve personal information and clarified when disclosure of personal information without consent will be permitted. This decision has considerable implications for creditors and third party lenders. There is a strong suggestion that debtors […] Read more
The 2016 Brussels Privacy Symposium which took place last week (November 8th) is the first annual academic program jointly presented by the Brussels Privacy Hub of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF). The all-day workshop is titled: Identifiability: Policy and Practical Solutions for Anonymization and Pseudonymization. Khaled El Emam, […] Read more
Wearable and mobile devices that help users track physiological information can greatly improve consumers’ lives. Wearable technologies – and related apps and services – can use sensors to collect environmental, behavioral, and social data from consumers. Users can monitor, evaluate, and improve something as simple as a fitness routine or as serious as a medicine […] Read more
Le 3 octobre 2016, la Commission d’accès à l’information (CAI) rendait public son rapport quinquennal 2016, intitulé « Rétablir l’équilibre », concernant l’application de la Loi sur l’accès aux documents des organismes publics et sur la protection des renseignements personnels et de la Loi sur la protection des renseignements personnels dans le secteur privé (ci-après la « Loi […] Read more
On October 3, 2016, the Commission d’accès à l’information (CAI) released its 2016 quinquennial report, entitled “Rétablir l’équilibre” (Restoring the Balance), concerning the application of the Act respecting documents held by public bodies and the protection of personal information and the Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector (the “Private Sector Act”). […] Read more
On October 26, 2016, the Canadian Radio-television and Tele-communications Commission issued a Compliance and Enforcement Decision finding that Blackstone Learning Corp. violated Canada’s anti-spam legislation (CASL) by sending commercial electronic messages (CEM) without consent and imposing a $50,000 penalty. The Compliance and Enforcement Decision against Blackstone Learning Corp. related to nine email campaigns between 9 […] Read more
This year’s Privacy XChange Forum event is taking place on October 16-18 and is held at the Boulders Resort & Spa, situated in the foothills of Arizona’s Sonoran Desert. I am delighted to present with co-panelists Kate Black, Joëlle Jouret and Francesca Spidalieri on October 17th, on “Where In the World: A Quick and Easy Breakdown of Privacy Standards and Regulations”. From the […] Read more
IAPP and EY recently published their Annual Privacy Governance Report for 2016 which discusses recent privacy trends. This Report is the result of data provided by 600 privacy professionals across the globe, some of them from Canada. On the regulatory front, the Report notes that businesses are getting ready for the European Union’s new General Data Protection Regulation (entering […] Read more
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) posted, earlier this week, the 51 submissions it received in response to its consultation on consent under the Personal Information and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). The consultation is looking to identify improvements to the current consent model currently challenged. I have submitted my comments as part of this […] Read more