Privacy Commissioner Blasts Canadian Government
By Ian Scott
Last year, PIPEDA - the act that is supposed to guarantee privacy in the Internet age for Canadians was passed into law. It’s a tough law, and requires that every organization (including every business) in Canada must have a privacy policy that is available to anyone that requests it.
Penalties for non-compliance are stiff as well. So how well has the Government of Canada done? Not ver well, if you read the speech of Jennifer Stoddart, Canada’s Privacy Commissioner.
Stoddart set the tone of her speech with her opening sentences:
“If the level of energy directed by government at using technology and law to facilitate surveillance were matched by an equal amount of energy directed at securing the right of privacy, I would be much more at ease as Privacy Commissioner.
Think about that for a moment. Our Government spends incredible amounts of resources to try to catch marijuana users, but spend little on protecting privacy.
I for one have less worry about corporations and businesses using my personal data than about how the Goverment and all it’s agencies, including law enforcement use data. Personally, I don’t care if a corporation or business attempts to “data match” me, and find ways to serve me better or to sell me something. I DO have concern about some government bureaucrat matching data.
Stoddart hits the nail right on the head when she says:
” One might hope that some uses of technology to intrude in the name of national security or some other perceived public good are merely temporary. But I suspect that they are temporary in the same sense that income tax was temporary when it was first introduced.”
Stoddart’s entire speech may be found here.