Privacy

The US Senate has voted to give law enforcement agencies access to web browsing data without a warrant, dramatically expanding the government’s surveillance powers in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The power grab was led by Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell as part of a reauthorization of the Patriot…

There is a common perception amongst privacy and business leaders that they do not need to take any action (for India’s PDPB) if they have already taken actions for compliance with EU GDPR. While the amount of work may not be as much, companies still need to take specific actions…

Broadcast date: Wednesday, May 13, 2020 Time: 8:00–9:00 a.m. PT, 11:00 a.m.–noon ET, 5:00–6:00 p.m. CET Looking back, it’s clear the EU General Data Protection Regulation was a defining moment in getting boards to pay attention to organizational privacy compliance. No doubt, for U.S. companies, the California Consumer Privacy Act…

Senate Republicans introduced a new bill during the tail end of last week that seeks to increase transparency and ownership of personal health, geolocation, proximity and other related data collected by digital devices or systems during the COVID-19 public health emergency. The so-called COVID-19 Consumer Data Protection Act was introduced…

An Ontario emergency order — which compels public health authorities to give requested COVID-19 data to first responders— lacks built-in transparency or accountability measures, said Teresa Scassa, professor at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law. The order allows police, firefighters and paramedics to obtain information about individuals with whom…

On May 7, 2020, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) and the provincial and territorial Information and Privacy Commissioners issued a joint statement on privacy principles for contact tracing and similar apps. (Aside: yes, not to be left out of the hero category, they really did refer…

Technical folks looking to improve web privacy haven’t been able to decide whether sound beyond the range of human hearing poses enough of a privacy risk to merit restriction. People can generally hear audio frequencies ranging from 20 Hz and 20,000 Hz, though individual hearing ranges vary. Audio frequencies below…

The safety and security of Canadians is of grave concern in the current COVID-19 health crisis. The urgency of limiting the spread of the virus is a significant challenge for government and  public  health  authorities,  who  are  looking  for  ways  to  leverage  personal  information to contain and gain insights about…

In October 2017, Sidewalk Labs and Waterfront Toronto set out to plan a shared vision for Quayside, a fundamentally more sustainable and affordable community resulting from innovations in technology and urban design. Since the project began, I’ve met thousands of Torontonians from all over the city, excited by the possibility…

TORONTO, ON — Waterfront Toronto has been informed that Sidewalk Labs is withdrawing from our planned redevelopment of Quayside on Toronto’s waterfront. While this is not the outcome we had hoped for, Waterfront Toronto offers thanks and appreciation to Sidewalk Labs for its vision, effort, and the many commitments that…