Canadian consumers generally are not aware of and do not understand how information about their online activities is being collected and used. The problem is not that online businesses are unable to obtain consent, but that consumers’ personal information too often is being used without meaningful consent.
PIPEDA requires online business to obtain informed consent for the collection, use and disclosure of individuals’ personal information. Individuals’ privacy rights are undermined by accepting hollow ‘contractual-type’ consent. Requiring true informed consent serves the objectives of privacy law, including giving user’s confidence in sharing the information required to engage in online transactions, enhancing user’s informational self-determination, and giving effect to the preferences of users as consumers and as citizens.
Read PIAC’s Comments on the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada’s Discussion Paper on Privacy and Consent.