Do you know how your location information is used? A recent survey commissioned by security company, Webroot, asked 1,645 social network users in the U.S. and UK who own location-enabled mobile devices about their use of location-based tools and services. The survey found that 39 percent of respondents reported using geo-location on their mobile devices and more than half (55 percent) of those users are worried about their loss of privacy.
A few dedicated OPC staffers spend much of their time visiting schools and talking to young people about why privacy is important. If you believe a popular line of thinking, privacy may seem to be a lost cause in the age of online social networking and “anything goes” disclosure. We who talk to youth on a regular basis, however, are always pleasantly surprised that a generation that is growing up online shows such interest and enthusiasm about protecting their information. It’s nice when research findings reflect our day-to-day observations that many young people are in fact proactive about protecting their online privacy.
Over the course of the year, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada is hosting consultations with Canadians on issues that pose a serious challenge to privacy. In an attempt to learn more about the privacy implications of new industries, the focus of the consultations has been on online tracking, profiling and targeting of consumers, and the increasing prevalence of cloud computing.
Louise is a central character in our upcoming Consumer Privacy Consultations - not because of her great hair, but because she's engaged online the way many Canadians are...she buys clothing and books online, she updates her Facebook profile regularly, she's got an iPhone.
Once again, students from the Encounters with Canada program have selected the winners of our annual student video contest! Here are the winners for our 2009 competition:
The combination of microblogging services like Twitter and location-aware social networking games on your mobile device like Foursquare is like the Red Bull and vodka of the internet — it’s one big party until your great-aunt’s end table is smashed.
On Data Privacy 2010 we’d like to take a moment to remind everyone that is the responsibility of both individuals and companies to make sure that personal information is safe.