The right of individuals to control information about themselves — what is collected, how it is used, and who can access it.
In a data context, privacy means that personal information is collected only with consent, used only for the purpose it was collected, protected from unauthorized access, and retained only as long as necessary.
Privacy is both a legal requirement (under PIPEDA and provincial laws) and an ethical obligation. Privacy by Design builds privacy into systems from the start rather than adding it as an afterthought.