Web Leakage: Privacy Commissioner Reports On Test Results

Last week, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada reported on research undertaken by her office during the summer to assess whether websites in Canada are inappropriately "leaking" the personal information of registered users.  Researchers tested 25 sites and identified "significant privacy concerns" with six of them.  Researchers also had questions about the practices of an additional five sites.

The Commissioner reported that the user information being leaked varied from website to website, but such leaks generally included one or more of a user's name, email address, postal code and location. 

The organizations receiving the information were reported as falling into three main categories: advertising companies, analytics companies and electronic flyer services.