Canadian Privacy Decisions

The Privacy Commissioner investigated a complaint regarding Canada Post's National Change of Address (NCOA) service. The complainant argued that Canada Post failed to adequately inform subscribers that their new addresses would be disclosed to third-party "mailers" (including mass marketers and direct marketers) for commercial purposes. The Commissioner found that Canada Post contravened sections 5(2) and 8 of the Privacy Act by not clearly identifying this purpose of disclosure and by failing to obtain the necessary consent from individuals.

• Adequacy of information provided to NCOA service subscribers regarding disclosure of new addresses to third parties.
• Whether consent obtained for NCOA service implicitly includes consent for disclosure to mass marketers and direct marketers.
• Canada Post's use of "negative consent" (opt-out) versus "positive consent" (opt-in) for disclosure of personal information.