|
On January 1, 2004, the Personal Information Protection Act (British Columbia) (“PIPA”) came into effect. This Act governs the collection, use and disclosure of “Personal Information”.
Personal Information is defined as “any information about an identifiable individual” which may include: Age, sex, marital status, race, nationality, ethnic origin, religious or personal beliefs, biological and health information, medical history or blood type, and information regarding behavior of an individual. Personal Information does not include business contact information.
PIPA applies to all private sector organizations including all businesses and non-profit organizations. “Organization” includes sole proprietorships and unincorporated entities.
PIPA imposes numerous restrictions on organizations in the collection, use and disclosure of personal information. PIPA covers the use, disclosure and collection of information from individuals outside the organization, as well as the employees of an organization. Two positive obligations imposed by PIPA are:
- Every organization must appoint a privacy officer.
- Every organization must develop a privacy policy and make such policy available to the public and develop a PIPA complaints process.
For more information on the Personal Information Privacy Act, its requirements and how it affects your organization, please contact one of our lawyers at (604) 581-4677.
|
