If you’re someone caught up in a data breach or a person who can point to an actual violation of privacy, an obvious question is whether you suffered harm and should you be compensated? Three PIPEDA-related decisions from Canadian courts in 2010 offer a glimpse of different approaches to the subject of privacy-related damages. Read more »
“If you build it, he will come”
Shoeless Joe Jackson – Field of Dreams (1989)
In the healthcare IT space, this famous movie line could easily be changed to “If you build a database, they will find secondary uses for it.” Read more »
As noted in the previous post, we now have a new American law – the Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”) — that essentially requires organizations in Canada to identify clients who are American; obtain their consent to the disclosure of sensitive personal information to the IRS or withhold the provision of a service for a failure to provide that consent. How does that mesh with the obligations of those organizations under Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”)? Read more »
Somewhere along the line Canadians developed an almost pathological paranoia about the U.S. PATRIOT Act but this post isn’t about that legislation. No, it’s about the new American kid on the block: the Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act* (“FATCA”). It actually makes one feel sorry for financial institutions and other organizations affected by this legislation. Read more »
Privacy has become less valued by society than in previous eras. Whether it’s security, convenience or the seemingly inevitable march of technology, we talk of “managing” privacy; of the balancing of business needs with individual interests; of data being the new currency; of generational change in attitudes; all ultimately leading one down the road of “privacy is dead” and of a need to “get over it”. You look at this type of roadmap and you can’t help but wonder if we’ve pulled – à la Bugs Bunny – a “wrong turn at Albuquerque”. Read more »
“Your word is your bond.” It’s a phrase that draws its origins from the Third Commandment and demands a high degree of integrity. However, substitute “password” for “word” and “security” for “bond”, and the story is very different in the world of online authentication. Read more »
K.T. Oslin won Best Country Vocal Performance at the 1988 Grammies for a song about three girls who grew up to be ‘80s Ladies – one of whom was a “borderline fool” who crossed that border every chance she got. While the song and, perhaps, the singer won’t be remembered today, this notion of being foolish crossing borders should be borne in mind when one considers personal electronics and travel. Read more »
For better or worse, the cloud can be seen as a “game-changer” in how we store and process information. While the placement of intellectual property, business confidential or personal information in the Cloud raises security concerns, it does offer benefits. In other words, it’s coming – whether we like it or not. Read more »
While in San Francisco for the ABA annual meeting earlier this month, I had lunch with John Tomaszewski, the General Counsel of TRUSTe. At the end of a very good conversation on privacy, security and identity, I couldn’t help but think that Cloud computing, as it actually is supposed to work, raises a lot of questions as to how custodians of personal information will be able to meet their legal obligations under existing data protection/privacy laws. Read more »
The regulatory bodies governing lawyers have long recognized the benefits and the risks of information technology in modern legal practices. However, with “Cloud computing” seemingly (and finally) “catching on”, one can’t help but wonder when the ethical guidance provided lawyers will be amended to address its possible use by the legal community in Canada. Read more »
