British Columbia Social Media Update

There is no question that social media has transformed the way businesses market themselves, with companies dedicating significant resources to this ever-expanding platform. Social media has also changed the way employers search for, monitor, and choose candidates and prospective employees. Given the wealth of information available with just one click, many employers increasingly use social media platforms to conduct background checks on candidates and employees. However, with this increase comes the potential of running afoul privacy laws.

To assist employers, the Office of the Information & Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia recently published an updated guideline, Conducting Social Media Background Checks ("Updated Guideline"). When a private sector company conducts social media background checks, the use, disclosure, and collection of personal information is governed by the Personal Information Protection Act; whereas, public bodies are governed by the Free