Saturday, January 17, 2004

Article: Protecting Privacy (from Macleans' Magazine)

News stories about PIPEDA are surprisingly few and far between, especially since the impact of the law is apparently at the top of business owners' concerns. According to a contact at the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses, their phones have been ringing off the hook. One medical society has gotten more than fifty calls in the last two weeks from physicians asking what this is about and what it means to them. The Globe, the National Post and the CBC have had some coverage of PIPEDA since the middle of December. I was wondering when Macleans magazine would have something.

I highly recommend reading Maclean's article, entitled "Protecting Privacy". It quotes very well respected authorities, such as the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, Anne Kavoukian and the Assistant Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Heather Black:

"Trashed credit ratings. Debit card fraud. Nasty divorces. If you think privacy legislation is boring, think again. Since 2001, federally regulated companies -- banks and broadcasters, for instance -- have had to comply with Canada's updated privacy legislation. Since January 1, that obligation has been extended to every organization involved in commercial activities unless it's already covered by a provincial privacy code."

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