Post Tagged with: "stoddart"

Privacy Commissioner of Canada Sets Out Targets for PIPEDA Reform

Privacy Commissioner of Canada Jennifer Stoddart this morning set out her office’s goals for PIPEDA reform. The last attempt to reform the private sector privacy law stalled in the House of Commons with Bill C-12 still technically alive (having been sitting at second reading for months) but destined to die […]

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May 23, 2013 2 comments News

Privacy Commissioner Should Disclose the Identities of Privacy “Leakers”

Last week, Privacy Commissioner of Canada Jennifer Stoddart released the results of a disturbing new study conducted by her office that found many leading websites “leaking” personal information. My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes the study, which came on the heels of similar findings by researchers in the United States, found that one in every four websites examined suffered from privacy leaks that included disclosing names, email addresses, postal codes, and location data to third party advertisers (in the interests of full disclosure, I am a member of the Stoddart’s external advisory board).

The study only covered 25 of the most popular e-commerce and media websites in Canada, suggesting that many more organizations may be violating Canadian privacy law by failing to adequately safeguard the personal information they collect and providing users with insufficient information about how their data is used and disclosed.

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October 3, 2012 8 comments Columns

Privacy Commissioner Should Name “Leaky” Websites

Appeared in the Toronto Star on September 30, 2012 as Privacy Commissioner Should Name Leaky Websites Last week, Privacy Commissioner of Canada Jennifer Stoddart released the results of a disturbing new study conducted by her office that found many leading websites “leaking” personal information. The study, which came on the […]

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October 3, 2012 1 comment Columns Archive

The Daily Digital Lock Dissenter, Day 21: Privacy Commissioner of Canada

The Privacy Commissioner of Canada has not spoken out on the recent copyright bills, but in 2008 she wrote a public letter to then-Industry Minister Jim Prentice expressing concern “about possible changes to the Act authorizing the use of technical mechanisms to prevent copyright infringement that could have a negative impact on the privacy rights of Canadians.” The Stoddart letter, which came in the aftermath of the Sony rootkit case, stated:

If DRM technologies only controlled copying and use of content, our Office would have few concerns. However, DRM technologies can also collect detailed personal information from users, who often do no more than access the content on a computer. This information is transmitted back to the copyright owner or content provider, without the consent or knowledge of the user. Although the means exist to circumvent these technologies and thus prevent the collection of this information, previous proposals to amend the Copyright Act contained anti-circumvention provisions.

Commissioner Stoddart has not commented on the adequacy of the personal information exception in Bill C-11, but there is reason for concern.

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November 2, 2011 14 comments News

Jennifer Stoddart’s Shot Across the Privacy Bow

By virtually every measure, 2010 was a remarkably successful year for Canadian privacy commissioner Jennifer Stoddart.  Riding the wave of high profile investigations into the privacy practices of Internet giants Facebook and Google, Stoddart received accolades around the world, while garnering a three-year renewal of her term at home.

My regular technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes that last week Stoddart used her first public lecture of 2011 to put the Canadian privacy and business communities on notice that she intends to use her new mandate to reshape the enforcement side of Canadian privacy law.  Speaking at the University of Ottawa, Stoddart hinted that she plans to push for order making power, tougher penalties, and a “naming names” strategy that may shame some organizations into better privacy compliance practices.

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January 26, 2011 3 comments Columns