Two years in, balancing change and privacy the main task for Philippe Dufresne

Supporting technological change while still protecting the privacy rights of Canadians is the complex balancing act that Privacy Commissioner Philippe Dufresne is trying to maintain. “The challenge of privacy is making sure that we are benefitting from all of these new technologies and we can enable them, but that we are not doing so at the expense of our fundamental rights,” the commissioner told The Wire Report in an interview. The commissioner is in the second year of a seven-year mandate. Prior to his appointment, Dufresne was law clerk at the House of Commons and served at the Canadian Human Rights Commission. He regards all his past experience as culminating in this current job. “My entire career has been devoted to the protection and promotion of fundamental rights and to figuring out how we can balance, and how we need to balance, these fundamental rights with the public interest and strong economy,” he states. Dufresne has three underlying principles in running the Office of the Privacy Commissioner: that privacy is a fundamental right; that privacy supports the public interest; and that his work accelerates Canadians’ confidence in their public institutions. One of the challenges is how to protect privacy while fueling innovation. As part of its work, the office funds outside researchers to do studies on topics it is concerned with. Dufresne stresses that the research is independent of his bureau and it neither endorses nor disputes the findings, and the data is collected to help Canadians make informed decisions on privacy matters. This year’s selection of studies concentrates on children and how to protect them in the digital world. The research could dovetail nicely with bills currently before Parliament. There is the government’s Online Harms Bill, C-63, in the House of Commons at present; a Senate bill S-210 on protecting children from online pornography; and a Conservative motion, Bill C-412, which offers that party’s take on online harms. In the case of S-210, Dufresne and Canadian Heritage’s associate assistant deputy minister Owen Ripley in May criticized the bill’s broad scope and loose privacy protections during their witness testimonies. Philippe Dufresne, Privacy Commissioner of Canada (Photo courtesy of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada) The Privacy Commissioner believes in working with other government bodies. He recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Federal Communications Commission in the United States on telecom privacy. He is chair of the Canadian Digital Regulators Forum, made up of his office, the CRTC, the Competition Bureau and the Copyright Board of Canada. “We’re seeing more and more the need for collaboration,” he asserts. The various agencies exchange information and reflect on best practices. The office works with provincial, national, and international partners. One area where the commissioner takes an active role is in vetting legislation for privacy concerns. That work can come at many different phases of a bill’s life. “We try to bring that privacy perspective on legislation at all stages,” he states. “So if we are involved at an earlier stage, we can provide input; if we are not, we can provide input at the committee stage.” Last year, Dufresne appeared at committee to suggest improvements to the Digital Charter Act, Bill C-27. He made 15 proposals which he insisted would make the legislation better, such as passing the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act provisions of the bill. He told The Wire Report the measures would modernize the bill. Earlier this month, the office won a battle with Meta Platforms Inc. when the Federal Court of Appeal ruled against the Facebook parent in a dispute over user data collection. Meta had initially been victorious but the appellate court reversed that decision. The office currently has proceedings underway against TikTok and Ticketmaster for their handling of data breaches. In Ticketmaster’s case, the breach was worldwide. Dufresne is to be in his job for five more years but is amenable to an extension if a future government so decides. “I’m focused on the mandate now and the issues now and there’s certainly a lot of work to be done,” he opines. – Reporting by Paul Park at ppark@thewirereport.ca

Two years in, balancing change and privacy the main task for Philippe Dufresne

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By Paul Park
| September 30, 2024

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Two years in, balancing change and privacy the main task for Philippe Dufresne

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