The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada has released a consultation paper that signals a major shift in its position on data transfers, indicating that it now believes that cross-border disclosures of personal information require prior consent. The approach is a significant reversal of longstanding policy that relied upon the accountability principle to ensure that organizations transferring personal information to third parties are ultimately responsible for safeguarding that information. In fact, OPC guidelines from January 2009 explicitly stated that “assuming the information is being used for the purpose it was originally collected, additional consent for the transfer is not required.”
Archive for April 10th, 2019

Law Bytes
Episode 264: Jon Penney on Chilling Effects in the Digital Age
byMichael Geist

March 30, 2026
Michael Geist
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Michael Geist
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Recent Posts
Win, Lose or Draw?: The Federal Court of Appeal Overrules a Key Copyright Case on Procedural Grounds
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The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 264: Jon Penney on Chilling Effects in the Digital Age
Heads They Win, Tails We Lose: What Lies Behind the U.S. Trade Battle For Control over Data

