Privacy News Articles

A new study released by TELUS in partnership with The Rotman School of Management puts a hefty dollar value on the cost of an IT security breach.

PrivacySense is pleased to present a new Privacy Lawyer Directory where you can browse for law firms practicing privacy law in your area.

Highly sensitive details of a US military missile air defence system were found on a second-hand hard drive bought on …

A Canadian office supply store Staples is undergoing scrunity after selling a hard-drive on clearance containing the personal files of a Carleton University political science professor who returned the hard drive to the store earlier. This is similar to last month’s post: Is Your Personal Information Safe in a Weak Economy? — except Staples has [...]

According to telegraph.co.uk, the proposals that were to be added to the Coroners and Justice Bill will be dropped: A spokesman for Mr Straw said the “strength of feeling” against the plans had persuaded him to rethink. The proposals will be dropped entirely from the Coroners and Justice Bill, and a new attempt will be [...]

As reported by Slashdot.org, the UK Government wants to have the ability to use your personal information without your consent and knowledge for purposes other than which you supplied it for: “Clause 152 of the Coroners and Justice Bill, currently being debated by the UK Parliament, would allow any Minister by order to take from [...]

Here’s a creative way to exercise your privacy rights. Unable to afford a proper music video, the Get Out Clause, a band from Manchester, UK, have set their instruments up in over 80 locations across the city while playing one of their songs. They then exercised their privacy rights under UK’s Freedom of Information Act [...]

In an attempt to cut down on crime, Chicago’s mayor is welcoming the increased installation and use of CCTV cameras in the city. The Chicago Sun-Times reports: Mayor Daley has argued that security and terrorism won’t be an issue if his Olympic dreams come true because, by 2016, there will be a surveillance camera on [...]

Ever since Google launched Latitude, a new service that allows you to use your mobile phone or computer to interact and see where your friends and family are on a Google map, an explosion of privacy hype seems to have erupted in the media. Here’s some examples: Computer World, CTV.ca, DesignNews, M&C, PC World (#2), [...]

Because of a loophole in US’ Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), your neighbourhood pharmacy may be selling your information to drug manufacturers. “They may even be recommending a medication to you that reacts badly to the medication you’re already on, causing you more harm than good,” said Dr. Rupin Thakkar of the Coalition [...]

Today marks the second annual data privacy day. On January 28, 2009, the United States, Canada, and 27 European countries will celebrate Data Privacy Day together for the second time. Designed to raise awareness and generate discussion about data privacy practices and rights, Data Privacy Day activities in the United States have included privacy professionals, [...]

Do CEOs have the right to privacy? CNN Money’s Fortune 500 has an article about the right to information vs. the right to privacy — who should prevail? Since Apple’s very own Steve Jobs has run into medical problems, Apple’s stock prices have been yo-yo’ing. From pancreatic cancer, to a common bug, to a problem [...]

What do celebrities, the president-elect, and the world’s oldest woman alive have in common? Their private lives have been highly diminished since becoming famous. UPI.com reports that since the death of Maria de Jesus nearly two weeks ago — previously the world’s oldest woman at the age of 115 — the world’s next oldest woman, [...]

TechCrunch reports that Facebook’s chief privacy officer, Chris Kelly, will be running for California’s Attorney General. It’s well known that Facebook has had its fair share of privacy issues. For example, on May 30, 2008, the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic filed a complaint to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada [...]

On November 21, I wrote about how the privacy commissioners of Alberta, British Columbia, and Canada have agreed to cooperate to create a harmonized approach to privacy. In a recent press release, the three privacy commissioners gave out a few privacy tips for your consideration this holiday season. In summary, these are: Prevent the amount [...]

The Federal Trade Commission has reported that Sony BMG Music Entertainment will pay a $1,000,000 penalty, the largest to date, for violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The case alleges that Sony knowingly collected personal information from children under the age of 13 on 196 websites without their parents’ consent. COPPA regulations state [...]

The Epoch Times has an interesting article about Canada’s Bill S-202 which has just received its second reading before Parliament. Bill S-202 — known as the Anti-Spam Act — will finally bring Canada up to par with all other G8 countries which already have anti-spam laws. Spamhaus.org reports that the majority of spam originates from [...]

Download.com reports that Firefox 3.1 is finally introducing a privacy mode into its browser. This is similar to Google Chrome’s incognito mode. Browsing in privacy/incognito mode allows you to surf without having your temporarily files, cookies, browser, search, download, and web form history recorded. You can be sure that the person using the computer after [...]

Jennifer Stoddart, the privacy commissioner of Canada, has released her 2007-2008 annual report on the Privacy Act to Parliament (read online or download pdf). I always find it a pleasure to read publications by Jennifer Stoddart because of her zealous and continual efforts to promote the right of privacy for Canadians. Part of Jennifer’s report [...]

A visitor browsing PrivacySense was nice enough to send me a quick email pointing out a bill from Nova Scotia’s privacy legislation that received royal assent July 14, 2006. Nova Scotia’s Personal Information International Disclosure Protection Act (PIIDPA) was created to protect Nova Scotians from their personal information being disclosed outside Canada. PIDDPA affects Nova [...]

The Financial Times featured an article today entitled: Privacy will end in 2013. I don’t know the lead researcher, Alex Fuss, neither am I familiar with the organization he represents, but the article does provide some interesting thoughts. Here are some of them: What will business IT look like in 2013? Social power will enable [...]

One thing that all retail establishments have in common is that they face the ongoing problem of combating return fraud. This especially affects those businesses with extremely lenient return policies and whose inventory always changes or is priced differently from the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP). When inventory always changes, it is difficult to monitor [...]

Three days ago I posed the question, Do Celebrities Forfeit Their Right to Privacy?, and made a comment about The Baltimore Sun’s invasion of the Obama family’s basic right to privacy. Well, the world isn’t finished with Obama yet; things have just started. Reuters presented a story yesterday about three Verizon employees who had breached [...]

A memorandum of understanding has been created by the Privacy Commissioners of Alberta, British Columbia and Canada in an attempt to align their resources, knowledge, and practices more closely together. This is certainly exciting news for privacy officers, especially those who have experienced the difficulties of dealing with privacy matters that bleed across different jurisdictions. [...]

In a column for Nova Scotia’s Chronicle Herald, Dulcie McCallum, the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy review officer of Nova Scotia speaks out about the province’s lack of privacy protection. In particular, Dulcie mentions the lack of a sufficient complaint procedure for individuals who have qualms with public bodies. Until this legislative hole [...]