3 Changes to Canadian Privacy Law That Will Impact Business, AI, & Healthcare

Whether you are a new Canadian startup looking to break into the healthcare app or artificial intelligence markets, a large enterprise that deals in a lot of consumer data, or a business within the science or education technology sectors, you may find it harder to comply with Canadian privacy legislation. The government of Canada has announced that they will be making several major and minor changes to Canadian privacy law, with 3 of the most important ones impacting several large sectors. Here is what you need to know!

1. Privacy Protections are set to Increase.

The Minister of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development, the Honourable Navdeep Bains has introduced the Consumer Privacy Protection Act, which proposes a new bill to upgrade the Federal Government’s framework for protecting personal information in private sectors.

• What does this bill do? This bill looks at enhancing the control over both personal information and corresponding data at the highest level.
• Why is this important? It means that companies will need to be aggressive and transparent about the collection of personal information and how it is used and stored. It also introduces a fine for any company that is not compliant with the Customer Consumer Privacy Protection Act. The fine is up to 5% of global revenues or up to $25 million.
• What does this mean? If passed, it gives the privacy commissioner the ability to handle Canadian privacy law violation cases without any outside influence.

2. AI Tech will be Regulated.

The Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Daniel Therrien, introduced steps in November 2020 for ways to regulate artificial intelligence. He believes that artificial intelligence has massive potential but that it needs to be implemented with respect to human rights and security policies. With a “rights-based” approach, Daniel Therrien believes that AI Tech can be developed responsibly.

• Why is this important? The current use of AI Tech is to decipher meaningful patterns in historical data to help make predictions about future events. This could be anything from the trend of insurance premiums to how many people qualify for loans. With tech that can use data in this manner, the lives of real people can be truly impacted.

3. There Are Privacy Concerns Around Telemedicine & EdTech.

With the ongoing pandemic, new ways of adopting existing and new technologies have given way to privacy concerns in healthcare and education technology, according to Canada’s Privacy Commissioner.

• Why is this important? Canadian Privacy Law currently does not protect Canadians against privacy risks in the telemedicine and education technology sectors. Thus, major changes are being suggested to improve the legislation.
• What would be impacted? Businesses running healthcare apps, video conferencing technology, and e-learning platforms will need to comply with new legislation that is passed.

As of right now, platforms in telemedicine, education, and video conferencing capture critical personal information of adults, students, and patients, posing confidentiality risks.