House ethics committee backs right to be forgotten in Canada

The government should consider including frameworks for a right to erasure and a right to de-indexing in the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), the House of Commons ethics committee is recommending in a new report. “The Committee believes that implementing a legal framework that would allow individuals to request, in certain specified circumstances, the de-indexing of harmful personal information is a good way of protecting Canadians’ reputation and privacy,” the report said. It also said it believes that “in general, individuals should have the right to have their personal information removed when they end a business relationship with a service provider or when the information was collected, used or disclosed contrary to PIPEDA.” The report follows a months-long study that reviewed the legislation, which governs the collection, use or disclosure of personal information by businesses and federally regulated organizations. It heard various views on the right to be forgotten, with privacy experts pointing out that such provisions are a part of the updates Canada needs to make to its privacy laws in order to maintain its adequacy status under the European Union’s general data protection regulations (GDPR), set to come in force in May. The report noted that the idea of a right to be forgotten encompasses both the right to erasure — or the right to have information removed from websites — and the right to de-indexing, or the “right to have a website containing personal information removed from the results of search engines.” The report noted that some witnesses were skeptical about whether a right to erasure would run counter to the right to freedom of expression under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and said that it would “have to be carefully framed in order to strike an appropriate balance between freedom of expression and protection of privacy.” The committee recommended including in PIPEDA a framework “for a right to erasure based on the model developed by the European Union that would, at a minimum, include a right for young people to have information posted online either by themselves or through an organization taken down.” The report also noted that the Office of the Privacy Commissioner recently issued a report saying that it believes a de-indexing right already exists under PIPEDA. The report said that during an appearance in front of the committee, privacy commissioner Daniel Therrien agreed “that this interpretation does have its critics and that it would be worth clarifying PIPEDA in this respect.” The report recommended that PIPEDA include a framework for the right to de-indexing, and that right “be expressly recognized in the case of personal information posted online by individuals when they were minors.” The committee noted that in order “to protect the public interest, as well as freedom of expression, this legal framework would have to provide for a rigorous and transparent decision-making process.” The report also said that the government should figure out what other changes to PIPEDA would be necessary to ensure Canada retains its adequacy status with the EU, which allows Canadian companies to receive EU data without additional authorization. Former interim privacy commissioner of Canada Chantal Bernier told the committee that status is “a competitive advantage that is critical.” If the government determines that the necessary changes aren’t in the Canadian interest, it should “create mechanisms to allow for the seamless transfer of data between Canada and the European Union,” the report said. Another change that would be necessary to hold onto adequacy status is giving the privacy commissioner the enforcement powers he has asked for, the report said, recommending that the government do so and that those powers include the power to make orders and impose fines. The committee also said that the principle of privacy by design, which was developed by privacy expert Ann Cavoukian and aims to make sure that privacy issues are considered at all stages of development of a product, be a “central principle” of PIPEDA. “The Committee believes that privacy by design is an effective way to protect the privacy and reputation of Canadians. This proactive, integrated approach should be at the heart of any PIPEDA review,” the report said. The committee also looked at the increasing use of algorithms that use personal information, noting that one of the concerns raised during the committee’s study was “the risk that their use of personal information will perpetuate prejudices or discriminatory practices that exist in our society,” with the example of an intelligence system in England that identifies young criminals, which has flagged children as young as three years old. The committee, which is asking the government to respond to the report, recommended that the government should “consider implementing measures to improve algorithmic transparency.” — With reporting by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca and editing by Ahmad Hathout at ahathout@thewirereport.ca

House ethics committee backs right to be forgotten in Canada

Broadcast | March 1, 2018

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House ethics committee backs right to be forgotten in Canada

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