A great deal of consternation and confusion recently arose thanks to the language in a new piece of legislation introduced in the Senate on 29 March 2022. Bill S-7, which amends s. 99(1)(a) of the Customs Act, is intended to remedy a deficiency in that legislation which, until now, has had no specific criteria for searching personal digital devices. Indeed, the Customs … [Read more...] about Personal Digital Devices at the Border
Legislation
Elections: Political parties gathering and using information about voters
With Ontario elections taking place on June 2, some voters may question how provincial political parties use personal information. They may also wonder what federal parties have done with data that voters gave canvassers in the national election, held in September of 2021. In Ontario, the Privacy Commissioner has no jurisdiction over provincial political parties' … [Read more...] about Elections: Political parties gathering and using information about voters
Encryption HRIA
Signaling a major shift in the way Meta approaches users' privacy, the company recently announced plans to make all of its messaging services — WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram DMs — end-to-end encrypted (E2EE). As part of its initiative, Meta commissioned a human rights impact assessment (HRIA), which concluded that, "Meta’s planned expansion of strong … [Read more...] about Encryption HRIA
Projecting our values into laws
The Privacy Commissioner of Canada’s most recent annual report was tabled in Parliament on December 8, 2001. The report, titled Projecting our values into laws: Laying the foundation for responsible innovation, will be Daniel Therrien’s last annual report as Privacy Commissioner of Canada. The report calls on government to make privacy law reform a priority, and reiterates … [Read more...] about Projecting our values into laws
Changes to New Brunswick information law ‘an alarm bell’
The New Brunswick government has introduced amendments to the province's Right to Information and Protection of Privacy Act. New provisions enable the government to direct how departments and other public bodies process requests for documents and records, and the ability to apply different rules depending on the circumstances. The government says the amendments will make the … [Read more...] about Changes to New Brunswick information law ‘an alarm bell’
Open Letter to Belgian Government to halt legislation to undermine end-to-end encryption
On 29 September 2021, the Privacy & Access Council of Canada joined with 106 other organizations and individual privacy and cybersecurity experts, to send an open letter to the Belgian Ministers with responsibilities for digital and law enforcement issues. The Open letter from the members of the Global Encryption Coalition calls on the Belgian government to drop … [Read more...] about Open Letter to Belgian Government to halt legislation to undermine end-to-end encryption
