Canada’s privacy regulators are urging their respective governments to improve privacy legislation protections for young people and employees saying each are vulnerable to the growing influence of digital technologies.
B.C. information and privacy commissioner Michael McEvoy said his office has advocated for the development of a Children’s Code that would put rules and guardrails around young people’s personal information to ensure they can enjoy the benefits of technology, without falling prey to its potential harms.
Federal, provincial and territorial information and privacy authorities have been meeting in Quebec City for their annual meeting to discuss pressing concerns related to privacy and access to information.
Among the results of those sessions have been joint resolutions calling on governments to do more to protect the privacy rights of young people and workers.
In a joint statement, the regulators said the young people’s resolution focuses on the responsibility of organizations across all sectors to actively safeguard young people’s data through responsible measures, including minimized tracking, regulated data sharing, and stringent control over commercial advertising.
Further, it calls on organizations to safeguard their rights to access, correction, and appeal regarding personal data.
To that end, the regulators have called on the federal, provincial and territorial governments to review, amend or adopt legislation to ensure that it includes strong safeguards, transparency requirements and access to remedies for young people. They also called on government institutions to ensure that their practices prioritize a secure, ethical, and transparent digital environment for youth.
The regulators said special protections are essential for younger generations, because their information can live online for a long time, and may become a life-long reputational burden.
And, the resolution notes, that while the digital environment presents many opportunities for young people, it has also brought well-documented harms, including the impact of social media on physical and mental health.
The resolution also called on organizations to adopt practices promoting the best interests of young people, ensuring not only the safeguarding of young people’s data, but also empowering them with the knowledge and agency to navigate digital platforms and manage their data safely, and with autonomy.
“Initial steps include identifying and minimizing privacy risks at the design stage,” the regulators said. “Other recommendations include making the strongest privacy settings the default; turning off location tracking; and rejecting deceptive practices and incentives that influence young people to make poor privacy decisions or to engage in harmful behaviours.”
Employee privacy
The employee privacy resolution addresses the recent proliferation of employee monitoring software and how it has revealed that laws protecting workplace privacy are either out of date or absent altogether.
“In our increasingly digital work environments, there needs to be robust and relevant privacy protections in place to safeguard workers from overly intrusive monitoring by employers,” the regulators said.
The employee resolution said with the shift towards increased remote work arrangements and use of monitoring technologies, governments should develop or strengthen laws to protect employee privacy.
They also urged employers to be more transparent and accountable in their workplace monitoring policies and practices.
“Although some level of information collection is reasonable and may even be necessary to manage the employer-employee relationship, the adoption of digital surveillance technologies can have disproportionate impacts on employees’ privacy and can significantly impact an employee’s career and overall well-being, including heightened stress levels and other adverse mental health effects, not to mention reduced autonomy and creativity,” the regulators said.
The resolution calls for a collective effort from governments and employers to address statutory gaps, respect and protect employee rights to privacy and transparency, and ensure the fair and appropriate use of electronic monitoring tools and AI technologies in the modern workplace.
“The proliferation of remote and hybrid work options in recent years offers tremendous benefits and greater flexibility for employees and workplaces; however, those advances also come with serious privacy concerns, specifically around employee monitoring technologies,” McEvoy said.
