Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada wrongly collects information from First Nations activist’s personal Facebook page

A formal investigation by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada concluded that Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC) and the Department of Justice Canada wrongly collected personal information from activist Cindy Blackstock's personal Facebook page. The departments argued that information posted publicly on social media was not private, but the OPC rejected this argument, stating that public availability does not make information non-personal. The OPC recommended that both departments cease accessing personal information on social media without a direct link to government business and destroy improperly collected information, with both departments accepting the recommendations.

• Whether personal information posted on a public Facebook page is still considered private under the Privacy Act.
• Whether the collection of personal information from social media feeds was directly related to a government operating program or activity.
• Whether the departments' accessing of Indian status records was justified.