OPC Report Asserts PIPEDA Protections are Similar to EU “Right to be Forgotten”

On January 26, 2018, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (“OPC”) published its Draft Position on Online Reputation in conjunction with a Notice of Consultation and Call for Comments on this position. This Draft Position follows a 2016 consultation and call for essays on this subject.

In this Draft Position, the OPC proposes solutions that it believes balance freedom of expression and the privacy interests of individuals following feedback from stakeholders and the Canadian public that while they recognize the benefits of participating in the online world, they are also increasingly concerned about their online reputation. In order to address these concerns, the Draft Position has identified solutions, discussed below, including de-indexing and source amendment (or “takedown”) which share similarities with the “Right to be Forgotten” created by a 2014 decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union as well as the “Right to Erasure” included in the upcoming EU General Data Protection Regulation (known as the “GDPR”).

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This content has been updated on May 2, 2024 at 14 h 09 min.