News

  1. Census the least of Canadians’ privacy concerns: civil liberties group


    National Post (registration) (blog) – 4 hours ago

    OTTAWA — The census is an “extremely unlikely starting place” to battle for citizens’ privacy, and the plan to replace it with a voluntary survey and data

    Census the least of Canadians’ privacy concerns: Civil liberties group‎ – Vancouver Sun
    Committee tries to make sense of census‎ – Toronto Sun
    Voluntary Canadian Census May Mean More Telemarketing and Survey ‎ – TMCnet
    Toronto Star
    all 60 news articles »

    CBC.ca

  2. Privacy boss watching access to health files


    Calgary Herald – Gwendolyn Richards – 15 hours ago

    Stephen Duckett, president and CEO of Alberta Health Services, said professionals are taught about the need to protect a patient’s privacy early in their

    Privacy boss welcomes, raises concerns over changes to Health ‎ – Calgary Herald
    White paper explores visual privacy aspects of HIPAA‎ – Chiropractic Economics
    Amendments to Alberta’s Health Information Act come into force on ‎ – Lexology (registration)
    Edmonton Journal
    all 9 news articles »

  3. Friends and foes


    BBC News – Nick Dermody – 15 hours ago

    “The privacy settings on Facebook do depend on your ability to decide on who your friends are and what kind of relationship you have with them.

    Everybody hates Facebook‎ – Boston Globe
    Editorial: Facebook users can look after themselves‎ – The Province
    Has Facebook complied with Canadian privacy laws?‎ – News1130
    High Position (blog)Online Social Media (blog)
    all 64 news articles »

    Online Social Media (blog)

  4. The new ‘Anti-Facebook’: Will you use it?


    CBC.ca – Adrian Wyld – 5 hours ago

    Diaspora, developed by four US students, is described as a “privacy-aware, personally controlled” social network. The project made headlines earlier this

    The Anti-Facebook Arrives September 15: Will You Switch?‎ – PC World
    Facebook challenger Diaspora launching September 15‎ – Vancouver Sun (blog)
    Diaspora to Launch Privacy-Minded Social Net Next Month‎ – Digital Media Wire
    BBC News (blog)Inventorspot
    all 45 news articles »

    BBC News (blog)

  5. GPS Tracking: Invasion of Privacy?


    KEZI TV – 4 hours ago

    When he was charged, the suspect objected to the GPS, saying it was an invasion of privacy. But the court said an individual does not necessarily have a

    Time Magazine: Only Liberals Respect Privacy‎ – The American Culture
    Ninth Circuit Appeals Court Allows Warrantless GPS Tracking‎ – AHN | All Headline News
    US Court of Appeals: Goverment has the right to warrantless GPS ‎ – The Saginaw News – MLive.com
    RINF.COMNew York Post (blog)
    all 53 news articles »

    KEZI TV

  6. Adrian Grenier’s Teenage Paparazzo tackles the tabloids with an


    National Post (blog) – Brett Gundlock – 1 day ago

    He may not be as big a star as his alter ego Vincent Chase, but Adrian Grenier still knows the perils of the fame game. The first 30 seconds of this

    ‘Paparazzo’ smart, energetic‎ – Toronto Sun
    Teenage Paparazzo goes celebrity hunting in a hall of mirrors‎ – Globe and Mail
    Teenage Paparazzo: Entourage’s Adrian Grenier sets outs to prove ‎ – National Post
    Globe and MailEye Weekly
    all 100 news articles »

    Globe and Mail

  7. Germany considers ban on using Facebook for hiring


    Reuters – Jeremy Kirk – 22 hours ago

    Germany has been aggressive in analyzing online services given the country’s strict privacy laws, which came as a result of intense secret surveillance by

    Germany mulls privacy law preventing employee snooping‎ – HEXUS
    Should Employers Be Forbidden to Facebook You?‎ – TIME
    Online Privacy Is Largely a Myth‎ – 24/7 Wall St. (blog)
    HULIQExaminer.com
    all 531 news articles »

    Sydney Morning Herald

  8. Jails minister Crispin Blunt reveals he is gay and leaves wife


    The Guardian – Owen Bowcott – 4 hours ago

    The MP, who has represented Reigate since 1997, denied that he was involved in any other relationship and pleaded for his family’s privacy to be respected.

    Homosexuality ends Tory’s marriage‎ – The Press Association
    Conservative minister reveals he is gay‎ – ePolitix
    Conservative MP Crispin Blunt comes out‎ – Pink Paper
    BBC News
    all 113 news articles »

    Daily Mail

  9. Colbert skewers Google, Schmidt on privacy


    CNET – Chris Matyszczyk – 1 day ago

    Perhaps privacy doesn’t exist any more. Or, perhaps, as the highly incisive Danah Boyd of Microsoft Research New England suggests,

    Privacy 2.0‎ – Exec Digital
    Google CEO warns about internet privacy‎ – The Witness
    Stephen Colbert’s Internet Privacy Smackdown‎ – Gizmodo Australia
    TechCrunchHuffington Post (blog)
    all 8 news articles »

    Exec Digital

  10. Summary Box: Facebook Places and privacy


    The Associated Press – 2 days ago

    Many people worry about the privacy implications of letting people know where they are, digitally. SETTINGS: You can adjust the privacy settings of Places

    Foursquare Privacy Basics: 5 Tips to ‘Secure’ Your Check-Ins‎ – Reuters
    How to check out of Facebook’s new personal locator‎ – CBC.ca
    With geo-location on Facebook what will this do to privacy?‎ -

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Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)

The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (abbreviated PIPEDA or PIPED Act) is a Canadian law relating to data privacy. It governs how private-sector organizations collect, use and disclose personal information in the course of commercial business. In addition, the Act contains various provisions to facilitate the use of electronic documents. PIPEDA became law on 13 April 2000 to promote consumer trust in electronic commerce. The act was also intended to reassure the European Union that the Canadian privacy law was adequate to protect the personal information of European citizens.

PIPEDA incorporates and makes mandatory provisions of the Canadian Standards Association’s Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information, developed in 1995.

“Personal Information”, as specified in PIPEDA, is as follows: information about an identifiable individual, but does not include the name, title or business address or telephone number of an employee of an organization.

The law gives individuals the right to

  • know why an organization collects, uses or discloses their personal information;
  • expect an organization to collect, use or disclose their personal information reasonably and appropriately, and not use the information for any purpose other than that to which they have consented;
  • know who in the organization is responsible for protecting their personal information;
  • expect an organization to protect their personal information by taking appropriate security measures;
  • expect the personal information an organization holds about them to be accurate, complete and up-to-date;
  • obtain access to their personal information and ask for corrections if necessary; and
  • complain about how an organization handles their personal information if they feel their privacy rights have not been respected.

The law requires organizations to

  • obtain consent when they collect, use or disclose their personal information;
  • supply an individual with a product or a service even if they refuse consent for the collection, use or disclosure of your personal information unless that information is essential to the transaction;
  • collect information by fair and lawful means; and
  • have personal information policies that are clear, understandable and readily available.

Though the Act requires that affected organizations comply with the CSA Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information, there are a number of exceptions to Code where information can be collected, used and disclosed without the consent of the individual. Examples include for investigations related to law enforcement or in the event of an emergency. There are also exceptions to the general rule that an individual shall be given access to his or her personal information.

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