Privacy Commissioner Refuses To Subscribe To Publisher’s Consent Practices

Beyond stating general principles, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act ("PIPEDA") does not provide much guidance on how (or how not) to obtain the "knowledge and consent" of an individual which is necessary for a valid consent. However, in comments sprinkled through more than 170 decision summaries published late last year, the former Privacy Commissioner ("Commissioner") elaborated to some extent on his interpretation of the consent principles of PIPEDA. In those decisions, the Commissioner established broad guidelines recommending that organizations inform individuals in a prominent, comprehensible and relatively specific manner as to:

1. what personal information is to be collected and from whom;