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ARTICLE · 14 JUNE 2021

A Canadian Privacy Perspective On The Commercial Use Of Anonymous Video Analytics In Public Settings

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In October 2020, Canadian privacy regulators issued their findings and recommendations concerning the collection of video images of mall visitors for the use of Anonymous Video Analytics technology...

CanadaPrivacy
Éloïse Gratton
Éloïse Gratton
Andy Nagy
Andy Nagy
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In October 2020, Canadian privacy regulators issued their findings and recommendations concerning the collection of video images of mall visitors for the use of Anonymous Video Analytics technology (or "AVA" for short) installed in wayfinding directories—a type of digital display used by visitors to navigate malls—by a prominent commercial property management company.1

In essence, regulators concluded that this technology generated and retained visitors' demographic data, such as their age and gender, as well as their biometric information, a unique numerical representation of facial characteristics that could theoretically be used for facial recognition, without valid consent. This outcome was preceded by a similar decision issued in May 2020 by the Quebec privacy regulator in which it expressed concern regarding the technology's "low social acceptability". Without concluding whether AVA technology complied with the provincial privacy legislative framework, the

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