Privacy bill would set out rules on use of personal data, artificial intelligence

The federal Liberals plan to introduce privateness laws at the moment to present Canadians extra management over their private knowledge and introduce new guidelines for the usage of synthetic intelligence.

The invoice, to be introduced by Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, goals to fulfil his mandate to advance the federal digital constitution, strengthen privateness protections for shoppers and supply clear guidelines for honest competitors within the on-line market.

The digital constitution spells out 10 rules that vary from making certain management over info to significant penalties for misuse of information.

The laws is anticipated to revive some threads of a earlier invoice, launched by the Liberals in late 2020, that didn’t turn into regulation.

That invoice would have required firms to acquire consent from prospects by plain language, not a protracted authorized doc, earlier than utilizing their private knowledge.

It additionally aimed to make sure Canadians may demand their info on social media platforms reminiscent of Fb or Twitter be completely deleted.

The invoice would have armed the federal privateness commissioner with order-making powers, together with the power to demand that an organization cease accumulating knowledge or use private info, and to advocate {that a} deliberate tribunal impose a high-quality.

It didn’t, nevertheless, heed long-standing calls from privateness and accountability advocates to have the federal regulation governing private info explicitly apply to political events.

New privateness commissioner appointed

Daniel Therrien, who lengthy pushed for reforms as federal privateness commissioner, criticized the earlier invoice as “a step again general” from the present regulation.

It will give shoppers much less management and organizations extra flexibility in monetizing private knowledge with out growing their accountability, he stated in Might of final yr, earlier than the laws expired upon the final election name.

Therrien, whose time period as commissioner lately ended, additionally stated the laws put business pursuits forward of the privateness rights of individuals, and he advocated adopting a framework that may entrench privateness as a human proper.

Philippe Dufresne, the federal government’s nominee to exchange Therrien, informed a Home of Commons committee this week the approaching invoice should acknowledge privateness as a “elementary proper.”