Wiertz Sebastien - Privacy by Sebastien Wiertz (CC BY 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/ahk6nh

Wiertz Sebastien - Privacy by Sebastien Wiertz (CC BY 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/ahk6nh

Privacy

Privacy Breaches Expose Flaws in the Law

My weekly Law Bytes column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) focuses on the need for Canadian privacy reform in light of last week's security breaches involving CIBC and retailer giant Winners.  I note that these two incidents highlight the fragility of sensitive, personal information that is entrusted to Canadian businesses as well as the inadequacy of current Canadian privacy legislation.  Business groups have cautioned against privacy law reforms, yet as the risk of identity theft grows, the calls for change are likely to become more vocal. 

While the U.S. pushes forward with security breach disclosure legislation, Canadian business has argued strongly against similar reforms.  The Information Technology Association of Canada, which features representatives from companies such as BCE, Telus, Rogers, Microsoft, Nortel, and Research in Motion on its board of directors, warned against mandatory notification legislation in an appearance before a parliamentary committee last month.

Read more ›

January 22, 2007 3 comments Columns

Privacy Breaches Expose Flaws in Law

Appeared in the Toronto Star on January 22, 2007 as Privacy Breaches Expose Flaws in Law Privacy took centre stage in Canada late last week as TJX Cos., the parent company of retail giants Winners and HomeSense, disclosed that as many as two million Canadian credit cards may have been […]

Read more ›

January 22, 2007 8 comments Columns Archive

Canadian Security Breaches

Lots of coverage today on two major Canadian security breaches – 470,000 Canadians hit by a CIBC security breach, while two million credit cards may have been captured in a hacking job against Winners, a clother retailer.

Read more ›

January 18, 2007 Comments are Disabled News

Privacy Commissioner Launches New Contributions Program

The Privacy Commissioner of Canada has launched this year's contributions program, supporting both research and an NGO conference.

Read more ›

January 15, 2007 Comments are Disabled News

Smells Like Teen Spirit

My colleague Ian Kerr offers a lyrical and thought-provoking look at what we can expect of the reasonable expectation of privacy.

Read more ›

January 10, 2007 Comments are Disabled News