privacy
Personal Privacy in a Digital Age: Examining Current Intellectual Property & Privacy Obligations
Canadians have privacy rights associated with their personal information. This even applies when one’s personal information is held by someone else – like with hospital medical records. Patient ownership of personal data was illustrated in the 1992 Supreme Court of Canada (‘SCC’) decision, McInerney v. MacDonald, where the Court verified that despite the physician having […]
Tech, Tykes and Teens (or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love GAFA)
As the 2020 Presidential Primary begins to gather steam south of the border, US Senator Elizabeth Warren’s plan to break up big tech (Google, Amazon, and Facebook – she followed up later with a plan for Apple), has once again brought tech regulation into the political realm. But the real crux of the problem, the […]
The Dark Side of Wearable Technology
In an earlier post, I discussed how wearables are becoming prominent in modern life, with Toronto being a notable hotspot for technology development and related interest. From a legal perspective, there are two main concerns with wearable technology: privacy and product liability. This instalment in the Toronto Wearables Series will focus on the former. The […]
One of Wearable Technology’s Most Prominent Homes: Toronto
Toronto is quickly becoming a leader in the wearable technology industry, and is home to several innovative start-ups that have been very active in this field. In particular, there has been a focus on using wearable technology in relation to fitness and medical needs, with biometrics being a primary indicator. To support this activity, Toronto […]
The Tech Law Ultimatum: Consent or Exile?
Living in the twenty-first century comes with the need to manage expectations. While we live in a modern age with a variety of technological advancements, we may not be as innovative as we previously imagined. After decades of television shows like The Jetsons, some may even be inclined to ask, “Where’s my jetpack?” Professor Daithí […]
Use of Facial Recognition Software at Calgary Malls Raises Privacy Concerns
This article was originally published by The Lawyer’s Daily (www.thelawyersdaily.ca), part of LexisNexis Canada Inc. It is a common occurrence to see people checking the directory in a mall to get the location of the most popular stores. But what is less well known is that some malls have begun using those directories to identify […]
Big Data, Privacy and the GDPR
When I attended the Institute for the Future of Law Practice boot camp in May 2018 in Chicago, Professor Matthew Kugler from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law gave a lecture on cybersecurity, explaining how big data companies are turning humans into business products. In this information age, we are creating a breadcrumb trail of information about who we […]
The Right to Be Forgotten and the Canadian Landscape
In May 2014, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) upheld the so-called “right to be forgotten” in a privacy test case brought forward by a Spanish lawyer against Google. In its ruling, the court granted EU citizens the right to ask search engines, such as Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft Bing, to remove links […]
Facebook and Whatsapp Fined for Breaching EU Law and Deceiving Consumers
The re-posting of this comment is part of a cross-posting collaboration with MediaLaws: Law and Policy of the Media in a Comparative Perspective. On 18 May 2017, the European Commission fined €110 million Facebook for providing misleading information during the 2014 takeover of WhatsApp in case COMP/M.7217. Calling it a “proportionate and deterrent fine”, the […]