Innovation and the Privacy Advantage Jennifer Stoddart, Privacy Commissioner of Canada August 25, 2010 Institute of Public Administration of Canada 62 nd Annual Conference Ottawa, Ontario

2 Overview Implications of globalization Technological advances and new privacy threats Need to keep privacy at the forefront

3 Data Explosion Technological advances make it cheaper and faster to collect, create, share, process and store information Data volumes doubling every two years

4 Pressures on Privacy Every industry an information industry Personal data in the context of security and public safety initiatives Globalization of data flows

5 Role of the OPC Oversee compliance: –Privacy Act –PIPEDA Investigations Audits Outreach with organizations Public awareness and education

6 “Dataveillance” Daily activities leave trail of digital crumbs Top 50 U.S.web sites install average of 64 pieces of tracking technology – Wall Street Journal Internet users unaware of how personal information is harvested

Google Buzz New social networking service prompted joint letter from 10 data protection authorities Privacy protection must be considered and built in at the front end 7

Privacy Impact Assessment process Integrating privacy into policies Risk of function creep Privacy in the Public Sector 8

Global Digital Economy Regulation of businesses operating in multiple jurisdictions Search for international solution 9

Conclusion Privacy protection is not an impediment to innovation and growth Privacy is a critical element of a free society 10