BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association
Your Data Your Rights
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Ottawa police investigate death of young woman India high commission says was student
Ottawa police are investigating the death of a young woman who was found in a park on the shore of the Ottawa River on Sunday. The Indian High Commission in Ottawa has identified her as a student from India, saying she went missing several days before her body was found. Ottawa police say they won’t…
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Amnesty says Indonesia suppresses free speech with crackdowns on public protests
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Amnesty International criticized Indonesia’s government Tuesday, saying it suppresses free speech with crackdowns on public protests, targets journalists and rights activists and uses spyware against dissidents. The rights group said in its annual report on Indonesia that public protests “were met with excessive and unnecessary force and arbitrary arrests,” including in…
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Power outages across Spain and Portugal affected millions. How to prepare for a major blackout
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — An unprecedented blackout across Spain and Portugal upended the lives of millions across the Iberian Peninsula, a stark reminder of modern society’s reliance on electricity, and how quickly life can descend into chaos when the grid goes down. Power was nearly completely restored across the region on Tuesday, but the cause…
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Royal couple’s three day visit to Canada for Platinum Jubilee cost at least $1M
OTTAWA — Canadian taxpayers spent at least $1 million hosting King Charles III, who was the Prince of Wales at the time, when he visited Canada earlier this year. The RCMP provided a breakdown of the nearly $450,000 in costs it incurred for his three-day visit in May, accompanied by Queen Consort Camilla, who was then the…
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RCMP saw potential wolf human ‘conflict’ as zoo said no risk: B.C. escape documents
VANCOUVER — Internal RCMP documents show police saw potential for human-wolf “conflict” after the animals escaped their enclosure at the Greater Vancouver Zoo in August, while the facility announced there was no danger to the public. The zoo in Aldergrove was shut for three days from Aug. 16 as workers and conservation officers searched for…
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Fortnite maker to pay $520M for privacy, e commerce abuses
The maker of the popular Fortnite video game will pay $520 million in penalties and refunds to settle complaints revolving around children’s privacy and its payment methods that tricked players into making unintended purchases, U.S. federal regulators said Monday. The Federal Trade Commission reached the settlements to resolve two cases against Epic Games Inc., which…
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Your Medical Info Is Not Safe: BC Privacy Watchdog
Provincial health officials haven’t done enough to protect British Columbians’ personal health information from abuse and hacking despite knowing about vulnerabilities for years, a new investigation from the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner has found. A 2019 internal risk assessment found the Provincial Public Health Information System, run by the Provincial Health Services Authority, lacked…
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N.W.T. announces latest case of private health information mishandled
YELLOWKNIFE — A privacy breach affecting people who stayed at a COVID-19 isolation centre is the latest in a long line of cases of health information being mishandled in the Northwest Territories. Late last week, the N.W.T. Department of Health and Social Services issued notice of the “low-risk” breach involving about 2,000 COVID-19 isolation forms,…
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Elon Musk claims he was doxxed. But what exactly is that?
NEW YORK (AP) — When Twitter abruptly suspended the accounts of several journalists with no explanation, the platform’s owner Elon Musk hinted at the possible reason: They allegedly doxxed him. “You dox, you get suspended. End of story. That’s it,” he said on a Twitter Space audio discussion late Thursday, referring to the act of…
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Personal health information ‘disturbingly’ vulnerable: B.C. privacy commissioner
VICTORIA — Sensitive personal health records of British Columbia residents, from mental health to sexually transmitted disease histories, are “disturbingly” vulnerable to leaks, the provincial privacy watchdog says. Information and privacy commissioner Michael McEvoy says in a report released by his office Thursday that security gaps in the public health computer system put it at…