Most organizations of any size work with some variety of personal information. "Personal information" includes a wide variety of data, such as information about a customer's purchasing habits, credit ratings, financial information and family, as well as employee information.
Until recently, there was little regulation of the private sector's tracking and use of personal information. However, under British Columbia’s new Personal Information Protection Act (which came into force on January 1, 2004), any business that collects personal information from its customers and clients and any business with employees must now take steps to protect their personal information. The new legislation applies to the personal information of employees as well as the personal information of clients and customers. Organizations (businesses as well as non-profits) wishing to continue the collection, use and disclosure of personal information must comply with new restrictions and requirements. For example, organizations are required to declare their purpose for collecting data, and must limit their use and disclosure accordingly. Persons from whom personal information is collected must be given access to the information.
While the requirements may seem straightforward, their implementation from a legal perspective is not. In addition to the procedural issues that need to be considered, the protection of privacy intersects other areas of business law such as employment, consumer protection and intellectual property.
To meet the challenges presented by the new legislation, many companies have put in place privacy policies and procedures that allow them to continue to legally collect, use and disclose personal information.
Experienced lawyers in Clark Wilson LLP’s Privacy practice assist our clients in establishing successful plans to legally collect personal information and preserve the right to use and disclose it. We can assist you with:
- assessing your current information management practices;
- establishing privacy policies and procedures to enable your collection, use and disclosure of personal information;
- handling queries and complaints from customers, employees or the public;
- handling regulatory complaints by staff and competitors; and
- assisting directors and owners of private and public companies in complying with regulatory requirements for doing business in Canada.
For Additional Information:
Your comments and questions are always welcome. Please feel free to contact Privacy Law Practice Chair Larry Munn, or any member of the Privacy Law Practice Group, using the information provided below.
