Statement from the Privacy Commissioner following release of ETHI report on facial recognition technology
October 6, 2022
Privacy Commissioner of Canada Philippe Dufresne today issued the following statement regarding a new report from the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics following its study on the use and impact of facial recognition technology:
I welcome the committee’s report, which confirms and reiterates the pressing necessity of ensuring the appropriate regulation of privacy impactful technologies such as facial recognition and artificial intelligence in a way that protects and promotes Canadians’ fundamental right to privacy.
The report confirms the need for critical measures such as:
- mandatory privacy impact assessments (PIAs) and consultation with my Office prior to the adoption, creation and use of facial recognition technology;
- improved accountability and transparency through enhanced oversight and public reporting and consultation;
- strong and effective legal frameworks to set limits on the use of facial recognition technologies by police and to ensure that privacy is protected at every stage of the process; and
- the modernization of private and public sector privacy laws.
With this in mind, I look forward to Parliament taking the next steps in its review of Bill C-27, which would update federal private-sector privacy legislation, and which, I hope, will be followed by a modernization of the public sector Privacy Act in the near future.
Related documents:
- Special report to Parliament: Police use of Facial Recognition Technology in Canada and the way forward
- Joint Statement by Federal, Provincial and Territorial Privacy Commissioners - Recommended legal framework for police agencies’ use of facial recognition
- Appearance before the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics (ETHI) on their Study of the Use and Impact of Facial Recognition Technology
- ETHI report: Facial recognition technology and the growing power of artificial intelligence
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