Dufresne releases annual privacy report to Parliament

The Privacy Commissioner is warning that artificial intelligence (AI) could have an impact on Canadians’ future privacy dealings. Philippe Dufresne sounded the alarm as he tabled the most recent annual report to Parliament Tuesday. Also on the commissioner’s radar is protecting children as they explore the digital world and preparing for law reform if Bill C-27, the Digital Charter Implementation Act, should pass through the House of Commons and the Senate. Dufresne has called for changes to the legislation. In his message of introduction, the commissioner stated privacy is a right which must be treated as a priority. It is not a zero-sum game but protects both private interests and the nation’s innovation and competitiveness. Privacy increases the trust citizens have in their institutions. A poll done for Dufresne’s office found that 93 per cent of respondents had some level of concern about their privacy. Four in 10 feel businesses respect their privacy while a majority do not believe so. Among the highlights listed for the past fiscal year are the investigation into Tim Hortons’ use of location data and Dufresne’s appointment itself. For the last year, the office received 1,241 complaints about breaches of the Privacy Act. A total of 434 were deemed to be well-founded complaints. Four hundred and sixty-nine were closed through early resolution while another 530 were closed through standard investigation. Most situations were settled within 2 months, the best timeline in recent years. The RCMP had the most complaints, with 262, followed by Correctional Service Canada (CSC) with 199. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) came in third with 131 complaints. Forty-seven per cent of complaints were closed by early resolution. In one instance, the office discovered that CSC improperly collected information from Meta Platforms Inc.’s Facebook. In another IRCC’s Immigration and Refugee Board released an employee’s sensitive medical data to management without consent. The commissioner also decried the use of facial recognition technology by the RCMP. The House of Commons Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics committee has similarly denounced the use of the software. Regarding the private sector, the office received 454 complaints of violations of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). Of those, 19 were said to be well-founded, 282 were resolved through early resolution and 102 through standard investigation. In one breach, Home Depot shared customer information with Facebook without consent. Sectors reporting violations were the financial industry (27 per cent), the telecom world (17 per cent), professional services (14 per cent), sales and retail (nine per cent), and insurance (seven per cent). –Reporting by Paul Park at ppark@thewirereport.ca and editing by Jenna Cocullo at jcocullo@thewirereport.ca

Dufresne releases annual privacy report to Parliament

News | September 19, 2023

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Dufresne releases annual privacy report to Parliament

News | September 19, 2023

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