Canadian privacy & access decisions

A dentist complained that RateMDs.com, a health practitioner ratings website, used her personal information without consent, contravening PIPEDA Principle 4.3. The complaint concerned both her business contact information and user-generated reviews and ratings about her practice. The OPC found that the business contact information was publicly available, thus not requiring consent for its collection, use, and disclosure. Regarding the reviews, the OPC acknowledged they were personal information for both the dentist and the reviewers, requiring a balancing of interests, and concluded that the public interest in informing patient decisions outweighed the dentist's lack of consent, deeming this aspect not well-founded. However, RateMDs' explanation of its accuracy and correction policies was found to lack clarity, contravening the Openness Principle, which RateMDs resolved by updating its terms. Crucially, the OPC found RateMDs' "pay-for-takedown" service, which allowed subscribers to hide negative reviews for a fee, to be an inappropriate practice under s.5(3) of PIPEDA, a "no-go zone." RateMDs agreed to cease offering this feature, leading to a conditionally resolved finding for this issue.

• Whether RateMDs collected, used, or disclosed the complainant's business contact information without consent (Principle 4.3)
• Whether the business contact information exemption under s.4.01 of PIPEDA applied to RateMDs' use of the complainant's business contact information
• Whether the complainant's business contact information was publicly available under s.7(1)(d), 7(2)(c.1), and 7(3)(h.1) of PIPEDA and its Regulations
• Whether the reviews and ratings posted on RateMDs constituted the complainant's personal information
• Whether the reviews and ratings also constituted the personal information of the users who posted them
• Whether RateMDs required the complainant's consent to publish the reviews and ratings about her (Principle 4.3)
• Whether a balancing of interests was required when the privacy rights of multiple individuals conflicted regarding the same personal information
• Whether RateMDs ensured the accuracy of information and provided a fair and accessible process for health professionals to challenge and correct inaccurate information (Principle 4.6, 4.9.5)
• Whether RateMDs made readily available specific information about its policies and practices relating to the management of personal information, particularly regarding review removal and correction (Principle 4.8)
• Whether RateMDs' "pay-for-takedown" service, allowing subscribers to hide negative reviews for a fee, constituted an appropriate purpose for collecting, using, or disclosing personal information under s.5(3) of PIPEDA