Proposed Anti-Spam and Privacy Law Changes: What Business Need To Know

Ariane Siegel, Paige Backman, Corrine Kennedy and Geoffrey Marr¹

After four years of review, discussion and recommendations by leading privacy experts, Privacy Commissioners and Industry Canada, Bill C-29, which provides proposed amendments to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act² ("PIPEDA"), began its second reading in the House of Commons on October 26^th, 2010, and is expected to come into force early in 2011. The proposed amendments under Bill C-29 are being made in accordance with a mandatory five-year review of the legislation provided for in Section 29(1) of PIPEDA.

One significant amendment involves a new provision dealing with breach notification. For the first time under PIPEDA, the proposed amendments present a mandatory notification framework for security breach related to personal information.