Canadian privacy & access decisions

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) investigated a complaint against the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) regarding its participation in the television series "Border Security: Canada’s Front Line." The complaint, filed by the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association on behalf of an individual, alleged violations of sections 4 and 8 of the Privacy Act concerning the collection and disclosure of personal information. The OPC found that while the CBSA's collection of the complainant's personal information for enforcement purposes met section 4, its disclosure to the production company, Force Four, lacked valid consent under section 8 due to the coercive context. The OPC also found that the CBSA disclosed personal information of an intended subject to Force Four without authorization and that the facial blurring techniques used were insufficient to protect privacy. Consequently, the complaint was found to be well-founded. The OPC recommended that the CBSA cease its participation in the TV Program and conduct Privacy Impact Assessments for future initiatives involving personal information, which the CBSA accepted.

• Whether the CBSA, as a federal institution, could contract out of its obligations under the Privacy Act
• Whether the CBSA's collection of personal information in connection with the TV Program related directly to an operating program or activity of the institution (s.4 Privacy Act)
• Whether the CBSA was involved in the collection of personal information for the purposes of the TV Program
• Whether there was a real-time disclosure of personal information by the CBSA to Force Four for the purpose of filming the TV Program
• Whether the CBSA obtained valid, meaningful, and freely given consent from individuals, including the complainant, for the disclosure of their personal information to Force Four (s.8 Privacy Act)
• Whether the "Voluntary Appearance Release Form" (Waiver) effectively waived individuals' rights under the Privacy Act
• Whether the practice of "silent filming" by the production crew was consistent with obtaining valid consent
• Whether the CBSA disclosed personal information of an intended subject to Force Four in advance of filming without authorization (s.8 Privacy Act)
• Whether the personal information of the intended subject was publicly available at the time of disclosure
• Whether the facial blurring and other identity concealment techniques used in the TV Program were sufficient to prevent the identification of individuals who had not provided written consent
• Whether the CBSA demonstrated how the disclosure of personal information of individuals without written consent was consistent with section 8 of the Privacy Act