A structured analysis of how a project or system will collect, use, and protect personal information, used to identify and reduce privacy risks before implementation.
A Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) is a proactive tool. Rather than discovering privacy problems after a system is built, a PIA identifies them during the design phase when they are easier and cheaper to fix. It examines what personal information will be collected, why it is needed, how it will be stored and protected, who will have access, and how long it will be retained.
In Canada, federal government institutions are required to conduct PIAs for programs and activities that involve personal information, under the Privacy Act and Treasury Board guidelines. Many provincial governments and private sector organizations conduct PIAs voluntarily or as required by sector-specific regulations.
Example: A municipality plans to install smart parking sensors that track vehicle movements. Before deployment, they conduct a PIA to assess whether the data collected constitutes personal information, what privacy risks exist, and what safeguards are needed — such as data minimization, retention limits, and access controls.
This is educational information, not legal advice.