The Canadian Privacy Law Blog: Developments in privacy law and writings of a Canadian privacy lawyer, containing information related to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (aka PIPEDA) and other Canadian and international laws.

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The author of this blog, David T.S. Fraser, is a Canadian privacy lawyer who practices with the firm of McInnes Cooper. He is the author of the Physicians' Privacy Manual. He has a national and international practice advising corporations and individuals on matters related to Canadian privacy laws.

For full contact information and a brief bio, please see David's profile.

Please note that I am only able to provide legal advice to clients. I am not able to provide free legal advice. Any unsolicited information sent to David Fraser cannot be considered to be solicitor-client privileged.

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The views expressed herein are solely the author's and should not be attributed to his employer or clients. Any postings on legal issues are provided as a public service, and do not constitute solicitation or provision of legal advice. The author makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained herein or linked to. Nothing herein should be used as a substitute for the advice of competent counsel.

This web site is presented for informational purposes only. These materials do not constitute legal advice and do not create a solicitor-client relationship between you and David T.S. Fraser. If you are seeking specific advice related to Canadian privacy law or PIPEDA, contact the author, David T.S. Fraser.

Sunday, August 20, 2006

World Privacy Forum files FTC complaint against AOL 

First of all, apologies for the extremely light writing as of late. I was at the Canadian Bar Association's annual get-together in St. John's, Newfoundland last week, followed by a week of vacation in Toronto with one of my sons. Things will be back to normal in about a week. Unless there's a huge pile of work to catch up on, which may be the case.

Back to the business of this blog ....

The World Privacy Forum has filed a complaint (PDF) with the US Federal Trade Commission over AOL's disclosure of slightly de-identified search data to researchers:

World Privacy Forum Files FTC Complaint About AOL Data Releases

The World Privacy Forum filed a complaint today with the Federal Trade Commission regarding AOL's multiple releases of portions of its users' search query histories. The complaint discusses AOL search query releases from 2004 and 2006. The complaint alleges that the data release was intentional, and due to significant identifiability issues of the data subjects, that the releases are harming some AOL customers, and that AOL customers did not know their search histories would be made available to the public. The World Privacy Forum urges consumers to take precautions when using search engines. For more see the complaint (PDF). Also see the World Privacy Forum Search Engine Privacy Tips.

Via ComputerWorld: Privacy watchdog says AOL violated its own policy.

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