Decisions/Federal (Canada)/Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act/PIPEDA Findings #2020-002: Health practitioner ratings site ceases charging for rating takedowns, a PIPEDA “no-go-zone”

Federal (Canada)Office of the Privacy Commissioner of CanadaPersonal Information Protection and Electronic Documents ActPIPEDA Findings #2020-002Well-founded & conditionally resolved

PIPEDA Findings #2020-002: Health practitioner ratings site ceases charging for rating takedowns, a PIPEDA “no-go-zone”

Organization: RateMDs.comComplainant: A dentist practicing in British Columbia

Decision: Jun 30, 2020Published: Jun 30, 2020

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Plain-Language Summary

A dentist complained that RateMDs.com, a health practitioner rating website, used her personal information without consent and for lucrative purposes. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) found that the dentist's business contact information was publicly available and did not require consent. However, the OPC found that RateMDs.com engaged in an inappropriate practice by charging a subscription fee for a service that allowed users to hide certain reviews, contravening PIPEDA's purpose provisions. RateMDs.com agreed to cease this practice, leading to a conditionally resolved outcome for that issue. The OPC also found RateMDs.com resolved issues related to openness regarding its policies on correcting inaccurate information.

Key Issues

Consent for the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information.
The appropriateness of using personal information for a business model.
Transparency and openness regarding policies for correcting inaccurate information.
The balance between privacy rights and public interest in online reviews.

Outcome

Complaint partially well-founded and resolved, partially not well-founded.

Reasoning

The OPC found the complaint regarding consent for business contact information was not well-founded as it was publicly available. However, charging for review takedowns was deemed an inappropriate purpose and thus well-founded, but resolved by the company's agreement to cease the practice. Issues of openness were also found well-founded and resolved.

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Decision Notes

Recommended action / remedy

RateMDs.com agreed to cease its 'pay-for-takedown' service for reviews and updated its policies for transparency regarding corrections.

Statutory provisions cited

Principle 4.3 PIPEDA
s. 5(3) PIPEDA
s. 7(1)(d) PIPEDA
s. 7(2)(c.1) PIPEDA
s. 7(3)(h.1) PIPEDA
Section 4.01 PIPEDA
Regulations Specifying Publicly Available Information
Principle 4.6 PIPEDA
Principle 4.6.1 PIPEDA
Principle 4.9.5 PIPEDA
s. 9(1) PIPEDA
Principle 4.8 PIPEDA

This summary is informational only and not legal advice.