Privacy is a fundamental human right — the right to control information about yourself. In a data context, privacy means that individuals have the ability to determine what personal information is collected about them, how it is used, and who can access it.
Why Privacy Matters
Privacy enables autonomy, dignity, and freedom. When people know their personal information is being collected and used without their knowledge or consent, it can change their behaviour, limit their freedom of expression, and expose them to harm.
From a practical standpoint, privacy breaches cause real damage: identity theft, financial loss, reputational harm, discrimination, and loss of trust.
Core Privacy Principles
Most privacy frameworks, including Canadian law, are built on a set of core principles:
- Accountability — organizations are responsible for the personal information they hold
- Identifying purposes — the purpose for collecting information must be identified before or at the time of collection
- Consent — individuals must consent to the collection, use, and disclosure of their information
- Limiting collection — collect only what is necessary for the identified purpose
- Limiting use, disclosure, and retention — use information only for the purpose it was collected
- Accuracy — keep personal information accurate, complete, and up to date
- Safeguards — protect personal information with appropriate security measures
- Openness — be transparent about your privacy practices
- Individual access — individuals have the right to access their own information
- Challenging compliance — individuals can challenge an organization's compliance with these principles
These ten principles come directly from the Canadian Standards Association Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information, which forms the basis of PIPEDA, Canada's federal private-sector privacy law.
Learn what counts as personal information in Personal Information.