Federal (Canada) Privacy Decisions

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) investigated a complaint against Google's search engine service. The complainant alleged that Google was violating PIPEDA by displaying links to old media articles about their arrest and criminal charge. While the OPC found that Google complied with accuracy requirements, it determined that the continued display of these sensitive articles, which caused significant harm to the complainant, outweighed the limited public interest. The OPC recommended Google de-list the articles, but Google refused, stating the matter should be decided by the courts.

• Whether Google contravened PIPEDA's accuracy requirements by displaying links to outdated articles.
• Whether Google contravened PIPEDA's "appropriate purposes" provision by displaying sensitive personal information linked to an individual's name.
• Balancing individual privacy rights against freedom of expression in the context of search engine results.
• Determining the public interest in accessing historical, sensitive information via search engine results.