PIPEDA | previous

PIPEDA, which has been in force since 2004, addresses the collection, storage and use of personal information by organizations in the private sector. It gives individuals the right to see and correct any personal information about them collected by companies in the course of their commercial activities. These provisions state that businesses must inform consumers of who is collecting the information, why the information is being gathered, and for what purposes it will be used. Under the law's guidelines, personal information can be collected only as long as it is: gathered with the knowledge and consent of the consumer;

• collected for a reasonable purpose;
• used only for the reasons for which it was gathered;
• accurate and up to date;
• open to inspection and correction by the consumer; and
• stored securely.

Canadian legislation does not prohibit the flow of information across international borders, but it does require companies to protect the personal information in their care. Also, there is a requirement to inform customers that their personal information may be sent out of the country, and that while such information is out of the country, it is still subject to Canadian laws.

Security breaches and identity theft

Though electronic technology offers substantial benefits, it has also ushered in new levels of white-collar criminal activity, cyber crime and identity theft. Privacy is increasingly under attack by technology that can follow our every step and track our personal activities and preferences.

The federal government is the nation's biggest repository of personal information, and 90 percent of the government's files are held in electronic form. With email, BlackBerrys, home offices and innovations such as "virtual teams," the majority of public servants today are communicating more by electronic means than ever before. While this might mean greater efficiency, the decentralization of information and more correspondence also creates more records, which need to be managed and securely protected.

In February 2008, Maclean's quoted Nigel Brown, a managing consultant with IBM Global Technology Services IT Security, as stating that identity fraud is estimated to cost Canadians $2 billion a year, plus time, inconvenience and stress. "At IBM, we're working on technology to strengthen the privacy of personal information, to help organizations implement 'need to know' access, where only the people who need information can get it, and only when they need it," he said.

This hardly seems sufficient. Individuals need to give consent for the collection of personal information, be informed as to who is collecting the information, the purpose for which it will be used, the duration that it will be held and that it will be securely disposed of at the end of the stated purpose continue

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