BreachOfPrivacy
Decisions/Federal (Canada)/Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act/Early resolved case summary #2016-02: Organization’s technical glitch results in the disclosure of a client’s personal information to another client
Office of the Privacy Commissioner of CanadaPersonal Information Protection and Electronic Documents ActEarly resolved case summary #2016-02Early-resolved
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Early resolved case summary #2016-02: Organization’s technical glitch results in the disclosure of a client’s personal information to another client

Organization: An online service companyComplainant: An individual
Decision: Aug 10, 2016Published: Aug 10, 2016

An individual complained that an online service company was not addressing an issue where another client's personal information was appearing on his account. The company, after intervention from the OPC, investigated and found the problem was a technical glitch involving another organization's software interface. The glitch was corrected, and the company updated its internal policies and established contractual agreements with the other organization to prevent future breaches.

  • Adequate training of front-line staff on privacy policies and procedures.
  • Need for contractual agreements to mitigate data breaches when integrating online services.
  • Effectiveness of escalation processes for client privacy concerns.
  • Resolution of technical glitches leading to inadvertent disclosure of personal information.

Complaint resolved to the complainant's satisfaction.

The complaint was resolved early in the investigation when the OPC's intervention prompted the online service company to investigate, fix the technical glitch, update its policies, and enter into a contractual agreement with the other organization, satisfying the complainant.

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Recommended action / remedy

The online company updated its internal policies, collaborated to fix a technical glitch, and developed a contractual agreement with the other organization to prevent future disclosures.

Statutory provisions cited
  • PIPEDA

This summary is informational only and not legal advice.