Canadian privacy news · weekly
Privacy Pulse
Every week I scan Canada’s privacy regulators and the commentators I trust, and pull the stories that actually matter for practitioners. Below are the headlines with short excerpts and links to the originals — plus my own “Why it matters” notes on the stories worth a second look. I refresh this page weekly; the full stories always live with their publishers.
BC OIPC — News and Events
Visit source →Canada’s information and privacy regulators collaborate to advance transparency, privacy and accountability amid rapid technological change
Federal, Provincial and Territorial Information and Privacy Commissioners and Ombuds gathered in Ottawa this week to explore ways to continue to foster public trust in democratic institutions through transparency,…
Why it matters: When federal and provincial commissioners coordinate, joint investigations follow — the ChatGPT probe is the template. I read this as a signal that cross-jurisdictional enforcement is becoming the norm, not the exception.
BC OIPC — News and Events · Sep 16, 2026 · Read the original →
OIPC launches consultation on large volume freedom of information requests
The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for BC (OIPC) is launching a consultation focusing on the experiences that applicants and public bodies have with large volume freedom of information (FOI) requests.
BC OIPC — News and Events · Sep 9, 2026 · Read the original →
OIPC releases identity theft guidance for public bodies, organizations, and individuals
Identity fraud – often the result of identity theft – was the most frequently reported type of fraud in Canada in 2025, and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre estimates that the numbers reported are only a fraction of…
Why it matters: Identity theft was Canada's most reported fraud in 2025. Guidance like this is what I translate into concrete control checklists for clients — worth reading alongside your breach response plan.
BC OIPC — News and Events · Aug 31, 2026 · Read the original →
OIPC evaluating removal of public access to BC Government Directory
Focus will be on validity of security risks and furthering transparency
BC OIPC — News and Events · Aug 25, 2026 · Read the original →
Letter to MLA Botterell Re: request for public consultation on removal of BC Government Directory
Re: Letter requesting public consultation on removal of the BC Government Directory
BC OIPC — News and Events · Aug 25, 2026 · Read the original →
Speech to the Select Standing Committee on Finance & Government Services
Thank you for finding time for me today, to present our supplemental request. When I appeared before you in April I mentioned I would be putting forward a fiscally prudent request in the fall to address the surge of…
BC OIPC — News and Events · Jul 14, 2026 · Read the original →
Annual Report and Service Plan 2025/2026: Commissioner calls for reform to modernize laws to build trust amid unprecedented demand for OIPC services
In his office’s latest Annual Report and Service Plan, BC Information and Privacy Commissioner Michael Harvey called for reforms to modernize BC’s privacy and access to information laws to better protect people’s rights…
BC OIPC — News and Events · Jun 25, 2026 · Read the original →
Letter to Minister Gibson Re: Collection & Reporting of Public Body FOI Metrics
My office has completed a report on our research into the collection and reporting of public body FOI metrics. Our research identified over thirty jurisdictions, within and outside of Canada, that require public bodies…
BC OIPC — News and Events · Jun 24, 2026 · Read the original →
BC OIPC — Rulings and Reports
Visit source →Park Village Mobile Home Park
Two individuals (the complainants) complained that Park Village Mobile Home Park (Park Village), which operates a manufactured home park where the complainants live, was collecting their personal information via video…
Why it matters: A textbook PIPA s.6 case: cameras collecting personal information without authority, ordered removed and deleted. If your organization runs video surveillance, this is the decision I point clients to first.
BC OIPC — Rulings and Reports · Sep 14, 2026 · Read the original →
Cariboo Regional District
The Cariboo Regional District (the District) requested authorization under s. 43 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act to disregard an individual’s (the respondent’s) outstanding and future access…
BC OIPC — Rulings and Reports · Sep 4, 2026 · Read the original →
Adjudication Under Section 62 of the Act Requested by A.P. on 29 December 2025
Adjudication Under Section 62 of the Act Requested by A.P. on 29 December 2025
BC OIPC — Rulings and Reports · Sep 3, 2026 · Read the original →
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority
An applicant asked for records about herself from the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority (Health Authority) under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA). The Health Authority identified…
BC OIPC — Rulings and Reports · Sep 3, 2026 · Read the original →
City of Coquitlam
An applicant requested the total legal costs incurred by the City of Coquitlam (the City) in its appeal of certain orders made by the BC Utilities Commission. The City withheld the information under s. 14…
BC OIPC — Rulings and Reports · Sep 2, 2026 · Read the original →
City of Richmond
An applicant requested the total legal fees incurred by the City of Richmond (the City) in the City’s appeals of certain orders and decisions of the BC Utilities Commission. The City refused to disclose this…
BC OIPC — Rulings and Reports · Sep 1, 2026 · Read the original →
City of Salmon Arm
Under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA), an individual (applicant) asked the City of Salmon Arm (City) for access to information related to a wildfire interface covenant registered on the…
BC OIPC — Rulings and Reports · Aug 31, 2026 · Read the original →
The Board of Education of School District 08 (Kootenay Lake)
An applicant made an access request under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA). The request was for records related to himself and his children. The Board of Education of School District 08…
BC OIPC — Rulings and Reports · Aug 31, 2026 · Read the original →
Michael Geist
Visit source →A Canary’s Song: What Antisemitism Reveals About the Health of Canadian Democracy
Peter Biro’s A Canary’s Song: Antisemitism in Our “Free and Democratic Society” conference was held earlier this week at the University of Toronto Conference Centre as the University stepped up after Massey College…
Michael Geist · Sep 18, 2026 · Read the original →
Elbows Up With Europe Too: Why Canada’s Pivot to the EU Raises the Same Digital Sovereignty Questions as the U.S.
Canada’s pivot to Europe continues to accelerate with Prime Minister Mark Carney’s speech to the European Parliament today , the call for Canada to become the first “associate member” of the EU, negotiations on a…
Why it matters: The EU adequacy question is the sleeper issue here. If Bill C-36 reshapes Canada's privacy regime, Brussels gets a vote on whether our protections still qualify — with real consequences for cross-border data flows.
Michael Geist · Sep 17, 2026 · Read the original →
A Century After Keeping Jewish Students Out, Universities Are Letting Them Be Pushed Out
In 1926, McGill University’s dean of arts, Ira MacKay, urged the university to establish a quota on the admission of Jewish students, writing that “the Jewish people are of no use to us in this country” and that “as a…
Michael Geist · Sep 15, 2026 · Read the original →
The Lessons of 9/11 We Forgot After October 7th
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins at sundown tonight. This year, it falls at the same time as the 25th anniversary of the September 11th attacks and weeks before the third anniversary of the October 7th…
Michael Geist · Sep 11, 2026 · Read the original →
Named to Canadian Lawyer’s Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers
Canadian Lawyer released its 2026 list of the Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers in Canada yesterday and I am grateful to be included. This is the fourth time I have appeared on the list, but the first since 2013, when the…
Michael Geist · Sep 3, 2026 · Read the original →
Be Careful What You Wish For: Why Asking Google Maps to Defy the U.S. on Lake Ontario Would Undermine Canadian Digital Sovereignty
I woke up early on Monday morning for 14 interviews focused on digital sovereignty on CBC Radio stations across the country (here’s the Manitoba version ). Most opened the discussion by asking what digital sovereignty…
Michael Geist · Sep 2, 2026 · Read the original →
Big Money, Bigger Design Changes: What the Meta Settlement Means for Canada, Bill C-34, and the Age Verification and Privacy Risks That Remain
The proposed settlement between Meta and 51 U.S. state attorneys general, filed last week and still subject to court approval, ranks among the biggest developments in technology litigation in years, featuring both big…
Michael Geist · Aug 31, 2026 · Read the original →
Unleashing the Trolls: Ontario Court Opens the Door to Liability for Influencers Who Weaponize Their Audiences
The legislative efforts to combat online harms in Canada have focused chiefly on platform responsibility, with Bill C-34 reintroducing a regulated duty to act responsibly . An Ontario court recently considered another…
Michael Geist · Aug 27, 2026 · Read the original →
EFF Deeplinks
Visit source →EU Kids Act Won't Keep the Internet Accountable and Trustworthy
The EU Commission draft law to restrict young people’s access to the internet that it presented last week will come at a high cost: it will put online services behind age gates, expand the use of intrusive age…
EFF Deeplinks · Sep 21, 2026 · Read the original →
EFF Statement on California Governor's Executive Order on AI
California Gov. Gavin Newsom's executive order is an opportunity for a needed, thoughtful conversation about artificial intelligence and its potential harms. Everyday Californians are feeling real anxiety about the…
EFF Deeplinks · Sep 18, 2026 · Read the original →
How to Limit What Apple’s New Siri AI Can Access in iOS 27
Apple’s new operating system is here, and along with it comes a new version of Siri, dubbed with two very familiar letters: AI. As the name suggests, this Siri power-up resembles an AI chatbot more than the often…
Why it matters: This is shadow AI at the device level — an OS update quietly expanding what an assistant can read across your apps. I walk clients through exactly these settings in AI governance reviews.
EFF Deeplinks · Sep 18, 2026 · Read the original →
Secure Messaging and AI Remain In Conflict Despite the Promise of TEEs
Secure messaging platforms, like Signal, WhatsApp, and recently, encrypted RCS , operate on a straightforward assumption: the content at each end of a conversation is private to the participants in the conversation.…
EFF Deeplinks · Sep 18, 2026 · Read the original →
EFF to Lawmakers: Ground AI Cybersecurity Rules in Best Practices
With doomsday AI scenarios dominating the news, lawmakers are rightly concerned about reports concerning security breaches at major US AI labs, such as the OpenAI–Hugging Face incident and the many others reported in…
EFF Deeplinks · Sep 18, 2026 · Read the original →
California’s “Addictive Feeds” Law Violates Teens’ First Amendment Rights
A California law that prohibits teens from receiving recommended social media content from other social media users violates their First Amendment rights, EFF argued this week. The case, Meta v. Bonta , challenges SB…
EFF Deeplinks · Sep 17, 2026 · Read the original →
Victory! Appeals Court Rejects Expansive New Copyright Claim
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit handed internet users and programmers a big win today, by rejecting an attempt to stretch a narrow provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) into a new…
EFF Deeplinks · Sep 16, 2026 · Read the original →
Victory: Court, Using a New Test, Rules Embedding Links is Legal
Courts have for two decades found that linking and embedding someone else’s web content, be it a photo, music, or an article, doesn’t violate copyright law–the entity that controls the server that hosts a copyrighted…
EFF Deeplinks · Sep 16, 2026 · Read the original →