Getting the privacy balance right is not easy, from both theoretical and practical perspectives. As examples, here are some recent developments that go both ways.
Pro Privacy
- Proposed Bill C-12 amendments [1]to PIPEDA that would mandate privacy breach notification in certain circumstances.
- The Ontario Court of Appeal decision in Jones v Tsige [2]that created a tort of breach of privacy, or “intrusion upon seclusion” for intentional, offensive privacy invasions.
- The US Supreme court decision in US v Jones [3]that decided police need to get a warrant before attaching a GPS tracking device to a vehicle.
Anti Privacy
- Proposed Bill C-12 amendments [1]to PIPEDA that encourage private entities to give personal information to law enforcement without warrants.
- Proposed “Lawful Access [4]” legislation [5]that allows police to obtain a significant amount of information about our mobile phone and internet accounts without a warrant, and would require ISP’s to retain certain information about us.
- The Supreme Court of Canada’s refusal to hear the appeal of the Leon’s [6]case where the Alberta Court of Appeal said that license plates are not personal information [7].