Personal Information Protection in the Face of Crime and Terror
Centre for Innovation Law and Policy, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto Office of the Privacy Commissioner, 2007 Contributions Program
Description of the Project
This project, funded by the Contributions Program 2007-2008 of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, considers how information is shared by private entities with national security services and law enforcement, by engaging in a two layered research agenda: 1) to describe the legal context of information sharing by private enterprises with public bodies in four major industries where potentially sensitive personal information is typically held (telecommunications companies, retailers, banks and airlines); and 2) to consider what, if any, statutory or Charter restrictions or questions are raised by these information sharing practices. The project considers industry-specific concerns raised where personal information held by private companies is of interest to national security services and law enforcement (online behavior, purchase histories, financial transactions, passenger data) and which is also potentially sensitive, especially the more it is compiled and combined with other information about an individual. The project culminated in a research report, available for download below. A roundtable workshop to discuss the findings in the report and to raise further issues was organized in collaboration with the Ontario Bar Association Constitutional, Civil Liberties and Human Rights section, and held on March 27, 2008. The slide presentation and the final account of further concerns raised at the roundtable are also available for download below.
Personal Information Protection in the Face of Crime and Terror: Information Sharing by Private Enterprises for National Security and Law Enforcement Purposes, March 2008
Download the full report here
Download the presentation here
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