Privacy Defined

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Privacy Defined – A Canadian version

Classically understood as the “right to be left alone,” privacy in today’s high-tech world has taken on a multitude of dimensions.  To experts in this area, privacy is equated with the right to enjoy private space, to conduct private communications, to be free from surveillance and to have the sanctity of one’s body respected.  To most people, it is about control – what is known about them and by whom.

Privacy protection in this country essentially focuses on safeguarding personal information.  Drawing upon generally accepted fair information practices, federal data protection laws seek to allow individuals to decide for themselves, to the greatest extent possible, with whom they will share their personal information, for what purposes and under what circumstances.  Thus, what is an unacceptable privacy intrusion to one person, may not be to another. This paper will canvass the federal landscape in terms of privacy legislation, its legislative history, and the need for modernization at a time when technology and terrorism are rapidly transforming the world in which we live.

http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Content/LOP/ResearchPublications/prb0744-e.htm