Issues about informational privacy have emerged in tandem with the escalating increase in nformation stored in electronic formats. Data protection is a pressing issue not only because files of personal information are being kept in greater detail and for longer periods of time, but also because the data can be retrieved and compared or matched without delay, regardless of geography. While defenders of information technology cite efficiency and safety among the countervailing benefits, concerns from an increasingly tech-savvy public have introduced a sense of urgency to demand tough legislation. Although many studies have provided evidence of online privacy concerns, few have explored the nature of the concern in detail, especially in terms of government policy for our new online environment. Bill C-6, Canada's recent legislative action, has provided a practical basis from which to appraise governments' role in privacy protection. With this in mind, the paper will be divided into two parts. Part one will be undertaken to: (A) evaluate the arguments of critics as well as defenders of contemporary record-keeping practices and the philosophical conceptions of privacy, which underlie them; and, using these themes (B) provide a comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of Bill C- 6, examining the ways in which policy makers have begun to treat privacy as both a commodity and a secondary adjunct to business activity. Part two of the paper, purposes a series of recommendations or, more specifically, a framework for Bill C-6 that would, more effectively, protect individual privacy from private entities, who collect online data.
Internet privacy in Canada: a public interest perspective
