PIPEDA Findings #2022-002: Biron Health Group has ceased sending promotional emails to travellers arriving in Canada who undergo COVID-19 testing
Biron Health Group sent promotional emails to travellers who had undergone COVID-19 testing upon arrival in Canada, using their email addresses collected for testing purposes. The complainant alleged this violated PIPEDA. Biron argued they assumed implicit consent due to a business relationship, but the OPC found this assumption unreasonable given the mandatory nature of the testing. Biron has since ceased the practice, deleted affected email addresses, and the complaint was settled.
- Use of personal information for secondary marketing purposes without consent
- Reasonableness of assuming implicit consent in a mandatory service context
- Nature of consent required for collecting and using health-related information
Complaint settled
The OPC found that Biron could not reasonably assume implicit consent to use travellers' personal information for marketing, as the travellers were compelled to use Biron's services for mandatory COVID-19 testing and would not expect their data to be used for other purposes. Biron's corrective actions resolved the complaint.
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Biron Health Group ceased sending promotional emails to travellers and deleted their email addresses from its marketing database.
- PIPEDA
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