Canada Revenue Agency and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) - 2015

This report addresses complaints against the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) regarding its publication of personal information inadvertently disclosed by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). The CRA mistakenly mailed a spreadsheet containing taxpayers' personal information to a CBC journalist. The CBC subsequently published an article detailing the breach, identifying several affected individuals, and including their photographs. Complainants alleged the CBC contravened the Privacy Act by disclosing this information. The CBC argued that the information was obtained legally and that the Privacy Act does not apply to information collected, used, or disclosed for journalistic purposes under section 69.1 of the Act. The OPC found that the CBC's actions were purely journalistic and therefore fell under this exclusion, meaning the Privacy Act did not apply to the CBC's handling of the information.