Massive B.C. Privacy Breach underlines risks of government using C-51 to collect and store our private info

Responding to the news, OpenMedia’s communications manager David Christopher said:

“Sadly, this is far from the first serious privacy breach in recent years, and it underlines the threat that Bill C-51 poses to our privacy. This irresponsible bill — now law — empowers CSIS to store huge amounts of our personal information in centralized databases, where it could then be shared with other agencies and even foreign governments.”

Christopher continued: “If today's news is any indicator of how government treats our personal information, then leaving C-51 in place is like dumping gas on a fire. It’s time for our leaders to take our privacy deficit seriously and repeal Bill C-51.”

Today’s news is the latest in a long line of privacy breaches by federal and provincial governments. In Alberta, a laptop containing the unencrypted health information of 620,000 people was stolen. Federally, a probe by the Privacy Commissioner found over 3000 data breaches affecting over 725,000 Canadians.

About OpenMedia

OpenMedia is an award-winning community-based organization that safeguards the possibilities of the open Internet. We work toward informed and participatory digital policy by engaging hundreds of thousands of people in protecting our online rights.

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Contact

David Christopher

Communications Manager, OpenMedia

(778) 232-1858 / [email protected]