The Growing Importance Of Privacy Compliance In Transactions

Increasingly, a key asset that organizations hold is the sensitive data they collect, use and retain about their customers, employees, and suppliers. It is therefore no surprise that data security and privacy compliance have become a top of mind consideration for organizations not only in the context of day-to-day operations, but also in connection with transactions they may be involved in.

While the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act ("PIPEDA") has been in place since 2000, the amendments made in 2015 through the enactment of the Digital Privacy Act were significant. Among other things, the Digital Privacy Act introduced an exemption that allows organizations to use personal information without the consent of the applicable individuals in the context of business transactions – commonly referred to as the "business transaction exemption". Simply put, business transactions that require personal information can proceed without