BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association
Your Data Your Rights
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Vancouver short-term rental data at stake in ongoing freedom of information dispute
Vancouver affordable housing advocate Rohana Rezel is six years into a freedom of information dispute with the City of Vancouver and Airbnb over data on short-term rental owners, but he says the issue has evolved beyond housing into a fight for “public transparency.” Rezel filed two requests with the city under the Freedom of Information…
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Planned burn could have killed trapped firefighters, says B.C. safety report
British Columbia’s worker protection agency says a planned burn by the province’s wildfire service during the devastating 2023 fire season could have killed or injured multiple firefighters who became “trapped by extreme fire behaviour” that cut off their escape. Inspection reports by WorkSafeBC say the BC Wildfire Service didn’t adequately ensure safety during the burn…
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Toronto District School Board says it got a ransom demand over stolen student data
Canada’s largest school board says it has received a ransom demand over student data that was stolen last December, even though the company behind the affected software paid ransom in hopes of securing that information. The Toronto District School Board said in a letter to parents and caregivers on Wednesday that it recently learned the…
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Nuclear threat from Ukraine war prompts Ottawa to update plans for catastrophe
OTTAWA — Canada is dusting off and updating emergency protocols to deal with fallout from a possible tactical nuclear exchange in Europe or the spread of radiation across the ocean from a Ukrainian power plant explosion. Internal Public Safety Canada notes show the measures include updating a highly secret plan to ensure the federal government…
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Privacy Act allows disclosure for inmate transfers, Mendicino said it restricts them
OTTAWA — Soon after Canadians were told privacy law was preventing them from learning why notorious serial killer Paul Bernardo was moved to a medium-security prison, the federal privacy watchdog was reminded behind the scenes that there are ways around it. Bernardo had spent nearly 30 years in a maximum-security prison — most recently the…
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Meta faces $100K daily fine from Norway regulator over privacy concerns in user advertising
NEW YORK (AP) — Meta will face a hefty fine over advertising practices that violate user privacy, Norway’s data protection authority said Monday, unless the Facebook and Instagram owner takes action to comply with the law. Norwegian regulator Datatilsynet says that behavioral advertising — a common marketing model that profiles users by collection information like…
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Threads collects so much sensitive information it’s a ‘hacker’s dream,’ experts say
TORONTO — It knows when you’ve been online shopping, the last time you worked out and whether you’ve been lurking on your ex’s profile. Meta’s new social media platform Threads is gobbling up massive amounts of sensitive data on its 100 million users and counting. The specificity and quantity of information the text and multimedia…
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FTC investigating ChatGPT creator OpenAI over consumer protection issues
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has launched an investigation into ChatGPT creator OpenAI and whether the artificial intelligence company violated consumer protection laws by scraping public data and publishing false information through its chatbot. The agency sent OpenAI a 20-page letter requesting detailed information on its AI technology, products, customers, privacy safeguards and data security…
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Feds doing ‘broader review’ of social media after banning TikTok from work devices
OTTAWA — After banishing TikTok from the mobile devices of public servants, the federal government is taking a look at possible threats from other social-media applications. The government said in February that TikTok, a wildly popular app for sharing short videos, posed an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security. Federal officials are conducting…
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House Republicans interrogate FTC’s Khan over regulation of Big Tech
WASHINGTON (AP) — The chair of the Federal Trade Commission defended her aggressive legal strategy toward the country’s biggest technology companies Thursday as House Republicans charged that the agency has become overzealous and politicized under President Joe Biden. Republicans charged that Lina Khan is “harassing” Twitter since its acquisition by Elon Musk, arbitrarily suing large…
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3 tax prep firms shared ‘extraordinarily sensitive’ data about taxpayers with Meta, lawmakers say
WASHINGTON (AP) — Three large tax preparation firms sent “extraordinarily sensitive” information on tens of millions of taxpayers to Facebook parent company Meta over the course of at least two years, a group of congressional Democrats reported on Wednesday. They say some of that data was then used by Meta to create targeted advertising to…