Topic: Privacy

Synthetic data: A potential solution to the de-identification problem

By Daniel Daniele (CA) on February 21, 2023 Posted in Privacy

The risk of privacy breaches using large data sets of personal information is only increasing with advancements in data processing and artificial intelligence (AI). With any large-scale manipulation of personal data by organizations, there is potential for misuse or disclosure of protected personal information. For instance, AI and machine learning systems necessitate vast quantities of … Continue reading

Bill C-27: Proposed legislation to regulate artificial intelligence and strengthen privacy law in Canada

By Daniel Daniele (CA) on September 20, 2022 Posted in Privacy

By Dan Daniele Bill C-27, the Digital Charter Implementation Act, 2022 seeks to bring “safety and trust” to the forefront of Canada’s evolving digital sphere, according to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Francois-Philippe Champagne, who introduced this bill on June 16, 2022. Bill C-27 promises to update and strengthen Canadian privacy law, govern … Continue reading

Think Before You App

By Daniel Daniele (CA) on March 24, 2021 Posted in Privacy

Self-isolation, stay-at-home orders, and lockdowns have changed the way we live during the COVID-19 pandemic. As many of us work remotely, limit face-to-face interactions, and stay indoors, we are reaching for our smartphones more and increasing our mobile app use. Mobile app usage increased by 40% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2020, hitting an … Continue reading

Bill C-11: Canada proposes new data privacy legislation

By Colin Hyslop (CA) on November 19, 2020 Posted in Privacy

On November 17, 2020, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, Navdeep Bains, tabled proposed legislation in Parliament that aims to overhaul Canada’s data privacy law. Bill C-11, entitled An Act to enact the Consumer Privacy Protection Act and the Personal Information and Data Protection Tribunal Act and to make consequential and related amendments to … Continue reading

COVID tracing & AI: physically distant, socially together

By Daniel Daniele (CA) on November 17, 2020 Posted in Privacy

As the second wave of COVID-19 spreads across Canada, the use of COVID-19 tracing apps is on the rise. For example, the Government of Canada released COVID Alert – an app using Bluetooth technology to help people report positive diagnoses, and control the spread of the virus. The success of the app depends on a … Continue reading

Court rules that reasonable expectation of privacy exists in social media users’ internet browsing data

By Phil Di Tullio (US) on April 16, 2020 Posted in Privacy

Social media users may have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their internet browsing data, according to a recent decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Court. Users of a social media platform brought a class action against its owner, alleging that the company tracked users’ browsing histories when they … Continue reading

Wearing out privacy: wearable technology revolutionizing social media marketing

By Daniel Daniele (CA) on February 27, 2020 Posted in Privacy

Social media has made sharing personal and professional updates easy and, in most cases, highly targeted. Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, as well as the proliferation of new social media platforms have created a window into the lives of those who are active on these platforms. One of the biggest tensions created by social media is … Continue reading

Is court anonymization enough in the era of social media and big data?

By Daniel Daniele (CA) on December 12, 2019 Posted in Litigation, Privacy

In the age of social media, are court procedures enough to protect vulnerable parties subject to a publication ban? In a recent article, researchers at the University of Zurich were able to re-identify parties in 84% of judgments studied (the Zurich Study).… Continue reading

Ninth Circuit severs the “debt collection” exemption of the TCPA in dispute over social media text messages

By Max Kellogg (US) on October 31, 2019 Posted in Privacy

On June 13, 2019, the 9th Circuit handed down a decision in Duguid v. Facebook, Inc., 926 F.3d 1146 (9th Cir. 2019), which has at least partially brought into question the future of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). Around January 2014 Facebook started sending Noah Duguid sporadic text messages, alerting Duguid that an unrecognized … Continue reading

Doxing the age of social media

By Daniel Daniele (CA) on June 4, 2019 Posted in Privacy

Online privacy is a fantasy for many people. We voluntarily post information about every aspect of our lives. Information we do not publicize can often be extracted from website data or our personal accounts (email, social media, etc.). Our privacy and sensitive information is often in jeopardy. What happens when our private and sensitive information … Continue reading

LinkedIn’s Updated Terms of Service Aim to Increase Profile Visibility and Sharing

By Chandler Stephens (US) on February 7, 2018 Posted in Privacy

In 2017, LinkedIn made several updates to its Terms of Service – comprised of its Privacy Policy and User Agreement – to provide for new LinkedIn features and give users some choices over how their information is used. In general, the changes revolve around new features that are intended to increase profile visibility and make … Continue reading

Who is responsible for fan sites?

By Sven Jacobs (DE) on December 7, 2017 Posted in Privacy

The Advocate General to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) Yves Bot caused a sensation with his unexpected opinion concerning the admissibility of social media fanpages under EU data protection law. According to the opinion of Mr. Bot, the operator of a social media fanpage is “jointly responsible for the processing and … Continue reading

Me, Myself & ‘AI’

By Daniel Daniele (CA) on September 20, 2017 Posted in Copyright, Patent, Privacy

Human interactions with technology In the past few years, the use of social media has increased rapidly. A key feature of social media platforms and social media apps is the ability to interact with other people in ways that were not thought possible in previous generations. With the click of a button, someone from the … Continue reading

Data processing and storage: Protection of Personal Information (POPI) and your social media account

By Lovanya Moodley on August 31, 2017 Posted in Privacy

The South African Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPI), which protects the processing of personal information by public and private bodies, is much like similar UK and EU legislation. It was signed into law in November 2013 but is not in full effect yet. Once the Act is made effective, companies will be given … Continue reading

Growth of Digital Payments on Social Networks

By Maya Medeiros on April 27, 2017 Posted in Privacy

A recent UN study reveals that rapid growth of social networks and e-commerce platforms has driven financial inclusion, economic activity and security in practically all countries and in particular China. The report highlights that popular applications WeChat and AliPay have developed into some of the largest and most sophisticated financial ecosystems in the world. For … Continue reading

Who is Fact Checking the Fact Checkers?

By Daniel Daniele (CA) on April 4, 2017 Posted in Defamation, Privacy

With the proliferation of so-called “fake news”, companies are starting to rely on third party organizations to perform a “fact checking” function in order to distinguish between legitimate news and fake news. The fake news epidemic gained traction in the recent US presidential election. We have previously written about the fake news problem, as well … Continue reading

Risks of unlawful social media content: changes in UK defamation landscape and what you need to know

By Joanna Conway (UK) on February 16, 2017 Posted in Defamation, Litigation, Privacy

A carefully curated social media presence is a critical business requirement, but there are risks. One of these risks is unlawful content – be that unlawful content posted to your businesses’ own social media account (exposing the company to potential liability) or harmful content about your business (or its C-Suite or key personnel) posted on … Continue reading

The edit button: can the past be erased?

By Daniel Daniele (CA) on January 4, 2017 Posted in Defamation, Privacy

Social media users have a new demand for 2017 – they want the ability to edit their public messages. Spelling mistakes, missing words and misplaced pronouns can have embarrassing, unintended and sometimes dangerous consequences. The ability to edit one’s message is an attractive feature. This request has led some users on the social media platform … Continue reading