Announcement

The Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Philippe Dufresne, joined his counterparts from other data privacy authorities based in the Asia Pacific region in Mexico City this week for the 59th Asia Pacific Privacy Authorities (APPA) forum.

Commissioner Dufresne spoke on the topic of data for equity – promoting privacy when collecting and using personal information to identify and eliminate barriers against individuals in equity-deserving groups.

Commissioner Dufresne also participated in a panel moderated and organized by the Office of Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia on employee surveillance, along with peers from South Korea and the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner from Australia.

The OPC also gave a presentation on its investigation into Home Depot, published earlier this year. The retailer had been collecting customer email addresses at store checkouts for the stated purpose of providing them with an electronic receipt instead of a printed one, but did not tell customers that their information would also be shared with Facebook’s parent company, Meta, for marketing purposes.

The OPC provided updates on the various international privacy working groups that it chairs or co-chairs, including the Global Privacy Assembly’s Digital Citizen and Consumer Working Group, its Data Protection and Other Rights and Freedoms Working Group, as well as the Global Privacy Enforcement Network.

Twice each year, APPA brings together regulators from across the Asia Pacific region, as well as guests from industry, think tanks, trade associations, and privacy regulators from outside the region, to discuss global privacy issues.

“The OPC finds great value in meeting and exchanging with our international colleagues on privacy matters of mutual interest and public importance,” said Privacy Commissioner of Canada Philippe Dufresne. “Each of our partners brings to the table a unique perspective on the privacy issues that we all face, and we are able to work together to more effectively protect fundamental privacy rights.”