Big data, big responsibilities

TO THE OFFICE OF THE • Canada’s Personal Information and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) PRIVACY COMMISSIONER has established a legal foundation ON CANADIAN PRIVACY for protecting the privacy rights of individuals online; however, additional RIGHTS IN A DIGITAL AGE security safeguards need to be in place to protect Canadian privacy rights in SAMANTHA BRADSHAW, KYLE HARRIS AND the age of Big Da [...] HYLA ZEIFMAN • The Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) has the opportunity to play a pivotal role in protecting our INTRODUCTION privacy rights in a digital age by pressuring organizations to adapt a Big Data is an umbrella term that encompasses the collection, retention set of guidelines and best practices and use of a massive volume and variety of data about individuals. [...] Enabled by the Internet, it is collected in the process of online searches, the creation of social media accounts, surveys, and the data mining of phone calls and text message logs. [...] Once data surveillance and data-gathering tools monitor, profile and record the activities of online users, the PRIVACY THREATS AND RISKS IN collected information is frequently sold and exchanged to BIG DATA third parties over the Internet. [...] The OPC limiting the length of time data is stored for, and by giving can work with data management and social media individuals greater control over the storage of their data, companies to create rules that prohibit the collection the possibility for privacy infractions decreases.