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Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act

The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act went into effect in Canada on January 1, 2001. The law is a step in the wrong direction because it saddles the private sector but exempts the government.

Unlike governments, businesses have incentives to put privacy practices in place: they don't want to lose customers. Also, to avoid business's prying eyes, individuals can use contracts and a variety of privacy-protecting technologies. These types of protections are far superior to government rules that are useless at best, costly and annoying at worst.

When it comes to avoiding government's gaze, there is no choice. If the government wants your data, you must comply and hope that they won't abuse it or lose it. That makes government security and data collection practices the most pressing privacy issues facing Canadians, Americans, and others around the globe.

Links: The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, Canada

Comments? comments@privacilla.org (Subject: CanadaPIPEDA)

[updated 07/19/01]