Privacy commissioner to look at Bell’s tracking

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner said it will investigate BCE Inc.’s plans to track customers’ television viewing and Internet and mobile device usage habits. In an emailed statement, Valerie Lawton, a spokeswoman for Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart, said the office “will be investigating this matter” following complaints it has received about a notice issued by Bell Canada. Bell's notice, available on its online privacy disclosure page Tuesday, said the company would start tracking subscribers’ habits on Nov. 16, including the websites subscribers visit, their web searches and mobile application usage, TV viewing habits, calling patterns, and other location-related information available on users’ cellphones. It will do so “to improve network performance and product offers through new business and marketing reports,” and to sell targeted ad inventory, Bell said. Lawton said the commissioner will look at “whether the planned changes to how the organization handles the personal information of customers is compliant with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), the federal law which covers the collection, use and disclosure in the course of commercial activities.” During question period Wednesday, Industry Minister James Moore said “Bell has raised a number of new policies that are of concern to consumers.” Referring to the privacy commissioner, Moore said “Canadians who are concerned about the new policies that Bell is putting forward an avenue to register their concerns." Quebecor Media Inc. cable subsidiary Videotron Ltd. said in a release Wednesday that it "does not sell the information it obtains about customers in the course of its activities to other companies. Videotron uses such information only for the purpose of providing customers with goods and services."

Privacy commissioner to look at Bell’s tracking

Brief | October 23, 2013

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Privacy commissioner to look at Bell’s tracking

Brief | October 23, 2013

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