Complaints in regard to Transport Canada’s requirement for owners of unmanned aircraft to display their personal information on the device

Four complaints were filed against Transport Canada (TC) regarding its Interim Order requiring owners of unmanned aircraft (drones) to display their name, address, and telephone number on the device. Complainants argued this contravened the disclosure provisions of the Privacy Act by forcing public exposure of personal information without consent, and raised concerns about harassment or identity theft. TC stated the Interim Order was an interim measure to address significant safety risks posed by recreational drone users, citing a 200% increase in incidents since 2014. The OPC determined that while the information is personal, the requirement does not constitute a 'collection' of personal information by TC under sections 4 and 5 of the Privacy Act, and thus the disclosure provisions of section 8 do not apply. The OPC found no violation of the Act but noted TC's commitment to rework identification requirements in future regulations to address privacy concerns.