Privacy

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) has opened an investigation into a data breach at Capital One after receiving complaints from Canadian customers. Capital One contacted our office about a breach that affected six million Canadians whose personal information — including, in some cases, Social Insurance Numbers…

There are two sets of reasons to care about your privacy even if you’ve got nothing to hide: ideological reasons and practical reasons. Ideological reasons Your privacy is a right you haven’t always had. Just like the right to interracial marriage, the right to divorce, female labor, the freedom of…

The Ponemon Institute just released its annual Cost of a Data Breach Report which it creates for IBM. The numbers reveal that data breaches are becoming more expensive. This doesn’t come as a surprise, however, it’s an important benchmark to track. And it’s an important benchmark worth sharing with executive…

As the January 1, 2020, deadline to comply with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) looms, marketers remain confused and concerned, particularly as amendments continue to mount. This month, government officials voted on seven new amendments covering everything from information collected for loyalty programs to consumer request disclosure methods. Uncertainties aside, many…

As of November 1, 2018, organizations subject to The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) will be required to: report to the Privacy Commissioner of Canada breaches of security safeguards involving personal information that pose a real risk of significant harm to individuals notify affected individuals about those breaches, and…

Editor’s Note: This is currently an EU issue, but the proposed changes to PIPDEA in Canada as well as the new California Consumer Protection Act 2018 (CCPA) will require us all to manage Data Subject Access Reports. Building it into your processes and systems now will keep you ahead of…

It turns out that your private and intimate moments aren’t that private after all — if you use Google Assistant, that is.  According to Belgian broadcaster VRT NWS, devices with the Google digital assistant are recording conversations and sounds inside the homes of their owners and sending those messages to humans for…

The Federal Trade Commission announced a settlement with Facebook over the company’s 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal. The fine represents the largest ever imposed by the FTC against a tech company. The FTC began probing Facebook in March 2018 following reports that political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica had improperly accessed the…

Last year, real estate developer Alastair Mactaggart spent nearly $3.5 million to put a privacy law on the ballot in California’s November election. He then negotiated a deal with state lawmakers to withdraw the ballot initiative if they passed their own privacy bill. That law — the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)…

Statement in response to Marriott International, Inc’s filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission that the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) intends to fine it for breaches of data protection law. Following an extensive investigation the ICO has issued a notice of its intention to fine Marriott International £99,200,396 ($164,067,534 CDN) for…