Government of Canada moves to enhance safety and security in the online marketplace
The Canadian federal government is taking aim at improving the security of Canadian online commerce.
The Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Industry, and the Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of State (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec), announced a series of amendments to the legislation protecting the personal information of Canadians (Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, or PIPEDA).
Amid growing public concern about data breaches involving personal information, the new additions to the PIPEDA mandate that organizations must report material data breaches to the Privacy Commissioner of Canada as well as notify individuals affected where there is a risk of harm. The bill makes other important changes, including exceptions to the consent requirement for business contact information and work product information. It also makes it easier for institutions to combat fraud by modifying the regulatory structure for disclosure to investigative bodies.
As well, the government intends to reintroduce anti-spam legislation in the House of Commons (the proposed Fighting Internet and Wireless Spam Act, or FISA). The act aims to deter the most nefarious forms of spam such as identity theft, phishing and spyware from within Canada.
The proposed FISA legislation provides a regulatory regime that uses economic disincentives to protect electronic commerce. Enforcement will come from three enforcement agencies: the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, Competition Bureau Canada and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.
The enactments may well improve online security for Canadians, but given the internet’s global reach it’s impossible for the Canadian government to eliminate all privacy threats to Canadians online.
