Press Release Department: Federal - Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

Canada's privacy commissioner Jennifer Stoddart issued a position paper on modernizing Canada’s private sector privacy law to include stronger enforcement powers, mandatory data breach reporting provisions, and increased accountability and transparency measures. The commissioner launched her office’s new paper, called "The Case for Reforming the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)," at the International … Read more

A group of 19 privacy enforcement authorities from around the globe – including the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada – are participating in the first annual international Internet Privacy Sweep. The Sweep is an initiative of the Global Privacy Enforcement Network, which connects privacy enforcement authorities to promote and support cooperation in cross-border … Read more

Privacy Commissioner of Canada Jennifer Stoddart issued a statement on the government’s decision not to proceed with Bill C-30, An Act to enact the Investigating and Preventing Criminal Electronic Communications Act and to amend the Criminal Code and others Acts (Protecting Children from Internet Predators Act). Stoddart said that when the bill was tabled last … Read more

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and the Dutch Data Protection Authority (College bescherming persoonsgegevens, (CBP)) released their findings from a collaborative investigation into the handling of personal information by WhatsApp Inc., a California-based mobile app developer. The coordinated investigation is a global first, as two national data protection authorities conducted their work together … Read more

In marking the launch of Media Literacy Week 2012, Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart released new guidance to help Canadians of all ages protect their privacy while playing interactive multiplayer videogames. The theme of this year’s Media Literacy Week, organized by a Canadian not-for-profit charitable organization for digital and media literacy Media Smarts is “Privacy Matters,” … Read more

To help heighten personal information protection in the mobile era, the privacy commissioner of Canada, and the information and privacy commissioners of Alberta and British Columbia issued new guidance to help mobile app developers set themselves apart by making user privacy central in their design process. Jennifer Stoddart, privacy commissioner of Canada, said that Canadians should … Read more

There is a continued rise in the level of privacy complaints about government by the public, along with greater delays in responding to requests by people seeking access to their personal information, according to Jennifer Stoddart, Privacy Commissioner of Canada, in her 2011-12 Privacy Act annual report which was tabled in Parliament. The commissioner’s report … Read more

Privacy Commissioner of Canada Jennifer Stoddart said the Supreme Court decision in A.B. v. Bragg Communications means Canadian children and youth who are victims of cyberbullying can now seek recourse before the courts anonymously. Stoddart said this decision shows that the courts understand the realities of the current technology and society, and that they will … Read more

Some leading websites in Canada are inappropriately “leaking” registered users’ personal information – including names, email addresses and postal codes – to third-party sites such as advertising companies, research by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada has found. Privacy commissioner Jennifer Stoddart said the research findings raise concerns for the privacy rights of … Read more

New guidance issued by the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, and the Information and Privacy Commissioners of Alberta and British Columbia seeks to provide insight for small- and medium-sized enterprises to help their forecasting of potential benefits and risks posed by cloud-based services. Privacy Commissioner of Canada Jennifer Stoddart said the guidance is designed to help … Read more