The Digital Privacy Act: Proposed Amendments To PIPEDA

On Tuesday April 2, 2014, the government gave first reading to proposed amendments to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act ("PIPEDA"). These amendments have been tabled as Bill S-4 in the Senate (the "Bill"), which is entitledthe Digital Privacy Act.

The Bill is broadly similar to the former Bill C-29 which was introduced in 2010 but never passed. However there are some changes, particularly in introducing a new "compliance agreement" paradigm.

Broadly, the major changes proposed in the Bill can be summarized as follows. The Bill would:

• Require mandatory reporting of security breaches to both the Privacy Commissioner and the affected individuals;