Archive for the ‘Privacy Online’ Category

This week is Privacy Awareness Week (PAW) – a global effort, coordinated by members of the Asia Pacific Privacy Authorities (APPA), to raise awareness about the value of privacy and the importance of protecting it.

For PAW 2013, APPA created an infographic that illustrates how technology has changed the way we communicate, do business and store information, and how this has introduced new privacy risks as a result.

It is an issue that many are thinking about. According to OPC’s recent survey, Canadians are increasingly anxious about their privacy in the face of new technology, and 70 per cent of them feel they have less protection of their personal information than they did 10 years ago. The research also indicates that Canadians avoid downloading apps or using certain websites and services due to privacy concerns.

What can we do?

It is true that consumers expect protections when they use products and services, but it is important to also realize that consumers have an important role to play and need to take an active approach when it comes to protecting their personal information. The best thing anyone can do, when using technology to collect or store personal information, is to understand the privacy risks that come with that technology. And here are some resources to help with that task:

Mobile App: We use our mobile devices to store a goldmine of personal information. To learn more about how to protect the personal information on your mobile device, download the OPC’s free myPRIVACYapp.

Video: Privacy and Social Networks: Do you know what happens to your personal information once you post it on to social networking sites? Watch this video that OPC created to understand how social networking sites make money off of your personal information. It may cause you to ask yourself some tough questions the next time you update your information online.

Infographic: 10 tips for preventing identity theft: Anyone who has personal information is at risk of identity theft, and the risks are higher now that we use technology for so many purposes. And while it’s impossible to entirely eliminate the risk of becoming a victim, it is possible to reduce it. The OPC’s infographic details 10 things you can do to prevent yourself from becoming a target.

Introduction to Cloud Computing: When you store your photos online instead of on your home computer, or use webmail or a social networking site, you are using a “cloud computing” service. The OPC’s fact sheet explains the privacy implications of this.

For more information on the privacy risks that come with technology, and on how to protect yourself, visit the OPC’s page of fact sheets covering a range of issues and topics.

Canadian kids are communicating online more than ever before, and are using tools like Skype sometimes even before they learn to walk. Many of us are astonished at how easily they adapt to new devices that connect to the Internet and at how these devices can quickly become part of their lives, as they use them to chat, surf, post, play and learn.

Many kids, however, don’t fully understand the impact that some online activities have on their privacy. They don’t understand the digital footprint they are leaving behind.

For this reason, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada has added a new component to its Protecting Your Online Rep presentation series. Today, we are launching Understanding Your Online Footprint: How to protect your personal information on the Internet, a presentation for young people in grades 4 to 6. The package includes slides, speaking notes and discussion topics for educators, community leaders and parents to speak with young people about online privacy.

The new presentation is packed with practical advice and features graphics and speaking notes that are tailored to the social realities and online activities of kids in grades 4 to 6. The goal of this tool is to help demonstrate how kids in this age group can use the Internet and have fun, without giving away too much of their personal information.

If you haven’t already checked them out, make sure to look at the presentation package for students in grades 7 and 8 (Secondary I to II in Quebec) and the presentation package for students in grades 9 to 12 (Secondary III to V in Quebec).

And if you have any questions or comments about our latest presentation, please let us know in the comments section below. Your feedback helps us improve the resources we develop.

The Privacy Commissioner has launched a new tool to help young Canadians understand and navigate privacy issues in the online world: a graphic novel entitled Social Smarts: Privacy, the Internet, and You.

The story follows Dave and Amy, a brother and sister who walk into their new school only to find that students they’ve never met before know all about them from their social network pages.

Guided by a talking smart phone, Dave, Amy and their classmates learn how their choices affect their reputations. In the end, they gain a better understanding of both what’s happening ‘behind the scenes’ and how to reduce the privacy risks associated with social networking, mobile devices, and online gaming.

Copies of the 12-page graphic novel – a first for our Office – can be downloaded from our website and printed.

The graphic novel complements a youth video, parent tips and a presentation package for educators released earlier this year.

To download a copy of the graphic novel, visit: youthprivacy.ca/en/gn_intro.html

Young people are embracing new digital communication technologies at earlier and earlier ages.  While they recognize the importance of protecting their privacy, they’re often not aware of the potential privacy risks that can accompany these novel technologies.

A recent study found that a third of North American Gen-Y moms (aged 18 to 27) let their children use a laptop by age two. According to the Joan Ganz Center in New York, by age three, those laptops and tablets are connected to the Internet daily for about a quarter of U.S. kids. By age five, the proportion online soars to half.

But what is being done to educate these children to the privacy risks they face when they use online games, applications, social networks, mobile devices and geo-location?  

It’s critically important to empower our children to make well-informed decisions in this increasingly complex online environment.

In our 2011 Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act Annual Report, tabled today, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada focuses on children and youth privacy.

The report outlines our recent work on the issue, including our first investigation of a youth-oriented social networking site; investigations of three complaints against Facebook; as well as an investigation into a complaint about a daycare’s use of webcam monitoring.

Accountability matters when it comes to privacy. As a business, though, you may not always find it clear what accountability really means when it comes to personal information protection.  

Accountability is the first fair information principle in the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). This reflects its importance—it is the bedrock of the Act. It’s also implicit in Alberta and British Columbia’s respective privacy laws, the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA).  The principle outlines the things organizations need to do to have a compliant and accountable privacy program in place.  But what does that mean in practice?

To help businesses “get accountability right”, Alberta, BC and our Office have released new guidelines —Getting Accountability Right with a Privacy Management Program. These new guidelines outline the elements of an effective privacy management program and offer scalable strategies that can be implemented by any size business.

Why should you care? 

These new guidelines outline how our offices view effective privacy management.  Big or small, an accountable business should be able to demonstrate to Privacy Commissioners that they have an effective, up-to-date privacy management program in place in the event of a complaint investigation or audit.  

Compliance, of course, is essential.  But we think there are a number of other benefits to having a privacy management program in place:

• An organization that has a strong privacy management program may enjoy an enhanced reputation that gives it a competitive edge.
• A privacy management program helps foster a culture of privacy throughout an organization and offers reassurance to customers and clients
• Proper use of risk assessment tools can help prevent problems. Fixing a privacy problem after the fact can be costly so careful consideration of the purposes for a particular initiative, product or service, and an assessment that minimizes any privacy impacts beforehand is vital.
• With a privacy management program, organizations will be able to demonstrate to customers, employees, partners, shareholders, and privacy commissioners that they have in place a robust privacy program that shows only compliance with privacy laws in Canada, but also that they are taking protection of personal information seriously.

Related Documents:

Guidelines: Getting Accountability Right with a Privacy Management Program

Interpretations: “Accountability”

Announcement: Commissioners Outline Building Blocks for Effective Privacy Management

Young people today are sophisticated users of the Internet, using this medium with ease and enthusiasm. It is important that they understand the impact that these technologies can have on their privacy, and that they have the tools and information they need to make smart decisions.

That’s why the Asia Pacific Privacy Authorities (APPA) forum, which includes the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, has made Privacy Resources for Young People the theme of Privacy Awareness Week 2012, April 29 – May 5.

Since 2008 our Office has been developing a variety of tools designed to teach young people about the relevance and importance of privacy when using modern technologies. The OPC has a Privacy Awareness Week 2012 web page with links to all of our privacy resources for youth, parents and educators, as well as links to privacy resources for youth developed by members of the APPA forum, at: www.priv.gc.ca/resource/paw/2012/index_e.asp.

If you would like more information on youth privacy, or to stay informed regarding our tips and tools for parents, educators and youth, visit the Office’s youth website at: www.youthprivacy.ca/.

You can also visit http://www.privacyawarenessweek.org for links to a wide variety of international privacy guidance including tips, animations, brochures, discussion topics and interactive website materials.

We also encourage you to follow us on twitter: @privacyprivee, Privacy Awareness Week: #2012PAW.

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada would like to extend tremendous thanks to all of the students, teachers and schools who participated in our myprivacy & me national video contest this year.

We would also like to express sincere thanks to Encounters with Canada, and the teens participating in its Politics in Canada week, who selected our winners.

Winning Videos:

The top video artists in the Privacy Issues Related to Cybersecurity category were:

1^st place: Brooke Davis and Alyssa Lynn of Hillcrest High School, Ottawa, ON, with a video titled “Your Online Life.”

The top video artists in the Privacy Issues Related to Mobile Devices category were:

1^st place: Matt Paddison and Julian Figueroa of Chatelech Secondary School, Sechelt, BC, with a video titled “Your Phone is Your Everything.”

2^nd place: Fumina Takara and Maryam Hashim of Hillcrest High School, Ottawa, ON, with a video titled “Mobile Information.”

The top video artists in the Privacy Issues Related to Online Gaming category were:

1^st place: Benjamin Reyes and Zachary Spence of Canterbury High School, Ottawa, ON, with a video titled “Credit and Safety.”

2^nd place: Mason Wik and Pierce Thomson of F.R. Haythorne Junior High, Sherwood Park, AB, with a video titled “Game Over.”

The top video artists in the Privacy Issues Related to Social Networking category were:

1^st place: Pamela Khouri and Hannah Chan of Collège Jean de la Mennais, La Prairie, QC, with a video titled “Unknown Exposure.”

2^nd place: Wajid Jawid Ahmad and Dawut Esse of Centre d’action bénévole Bordeaux-Cartierville, Montreal, QC, with a video titled “Spoken Words Are Fleeting… Written, They Remain.”

3^rd place: Katie Fitzgerald of Lorne Akins Junior High School, St. Albert, AB, with a video titled “Words Have Life.”

Congratulations to all of our winners!

A recently released study has given further evidence to the link between privacy and personal information protection and consumer confidence.

The Edelman study  released in February 2012 shows that consumer concerns about data privacy and security are actively diminishing their trust in organizations.  For instance, 92% listed data security and privacy as important considerations for financial institutions, but only 69% actually trusted financial institutions to adequately protect their personal information.  An even sharper disconnect can be seen with online retailers, with 84% naming security of personal information as a priority but only 33% trusting online retailers to protect it.

It’s hardly surprising that consumers are nervous.  Stories about privacy and security flaws and breaches abound in the media these days.  From flaws in mobile applications, retroactive release of archives for marketing, service amalgamation and data breaches, users are constantly confronted with evidence that their personal information is at risk.  Lack of transparency on the part of organizations and consumer discomfort with cross-border data traffic, outsourcing and cloud storage only further exacerbate the issue.

This challenge to trust appears to correlate to an increased willingness on the part of consumers to invest in their privacy.  Where a 2009 study concluded that consumers were unwilling to pay extra for privacy, recent research from the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) finds that individuals weigh security and privacy considerations as heavily as those relating to a product’s design, style, and physical dimensions. All other things being equal, the study discovered that consumers were willing to pay a higher price in order to protect their privacy. 

Investing in privacy is not the only way that consumer concerns are indicated – the Edelman data also shows nearly 50% of participants either leaving or avoiding companies that have suffered a security breach.  Following a data breach suffered by an organization with whom they’re already involved, up to 70% of those surveyed expressed willingness to terminate a relationship or switch providers. 

Findings like this should be a wake-up call for organizations, an indicator that it is no longer enough to “manage” security and privacy concerns. Instead, privacy and security need to be prioritized and strengthened to the point where they can be made key parts of branding and corporate identity.   Consumer confidence is key, and reliant upon trust. And new evidence increasingly shows that privacy is not only good business – it’s good for business.

Our Office understands the challenges faced by law enforcement and national security authorities in fighting online crime at a time of rapidly changing communications technologies and the need to modernize their tactics and tools accordingly.

We’re not necessarily opposed to legislation that modernizes police powers online – but it must demonstrably help protect the public, respect fundamental privacy principles established in Canadian law and be subject to proper oversight.

Upon a preliminary review following the tabling of Bill C-30, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner recognizes the government has made improvements to this Bill from previous iterations. On balance, however, significant privacy concerns remain.

We recognize that the government has reduced the number of data elements which could be accessed by authorities without a warrant or prior judicial authorization.  At the same time, by requiring authorities to conduct regular audits and to provide them both to the relevant Minister and oversight bodies, including our Office, this appears to help address past concerns about a lack of oversight.

On the balance however, the new Bill still contains serious privacy concerns, similar to past versions.

In particular, we are concerned about access, without a warrant, to subscriber information behind an IP address.  Since this broad power is not limited to reasonable grounds to suspect criminal activity or to a criminal investigation, it could affect any law-abiding citizen.

Going forward, we will be reviewing this Bill in full to determine:

How the Government justifies this warrantless access in a free and democratic society?;

How does “after the fact” review by ministerial and non-judicial bodies compare with “up front” oversight by the courts?;

Whether the new powers proposed by the legislation are demonstrably necessary, proportionate and effective?; and

Are there less privacy-invasive alternatives to achieve the desired outcomes?

It is through this lens that our Office will undertake a thorough review of the Bill.  We look forward to sharing our views with Parliament.

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It can be tough raising kids in a digital environment. Many of them use the Internet effortlessly, and easily adapt to new devices that connect to it. For many of us, these tools have become a routine part of our children’s lives, as they use them to chat, surf, post, play and learn. The Internet has become one of the most powerful tools they have to connect with friends and make new ones.

Many kids, however, don’t fully understand the impact that some online activities may have on their privacy. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada has come up with a new tip sheet that offers 12 practical tips for parents interested in discussing online privacy with their kids. The tips include simple ideas and advice that parents may use to limit risks to their child’s personal information, while allowing them to continue enjoying their time online.

Here is a quick list of the tips. Look at the tip sheet for detailed information on each tip!

1. Talk to your kids.
2. Try it out.
3. Keep up with the technology.
4. Make restricting privacy settings a habit.
5. Make password protection a priority.
6. Emphasize the importance of protecting mobile devices.
7. Remind your kids that what they post on the Internet is not always private.
8. Teach your kids to think before they click.
9. Stress the importance of knowing your real friends.
10. Teach your kids that their personal information is valuable.
11. Let your kids know that you are there if they make a privacy mistake.
12. Set a good example.

These tips were launched this week as part of our Office’s week-long campaign leading up to Data Privacy Day. For more information on the Office’s Data Privacy Day activities and resources, go to www.priv.gc.ca.

For more information on talking to your kids about how their use of technology can affect privacy, visit www.youthprivacy.ca/en/teachers.html.