EON

Federal Canada Privacy Commissioner On Facebook Friends List

Ontario- The Canadian Federal Privacy Commissioner has received an official complaint about the Web site Facebook, about a violation of the privacy law in effect in Canada, at the same time that the Commissioner’s office is working on a privacy initiative with them.

Facebook is a popular Internet web site where users post messages and pages, and there is an assumed level of privacy among its users.

A group of Canadian university students is alleging that Facebook revealed private and personal information without their permission.

But even as the Privacy Commissioner of Canada is being asked to investigate the Commissioners office is listed on the Internet site as a user and a friend, a possible conflict of interest.

The Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic accuses Face book of violations of the Canadian Personal Information and Electronic Documents Act.

But the issue that the Commissioner’s office is being asked to investigate appears to be taking second stage to the work by the Federal Privacy Commissioner on privacy issues.

The Commissioner’s Office is working with Facebook on a series of educational privacy issues, and the complaint against Facebook appears to be overshadowed by the joint work that Facebook and the Privacy Commissioner are doing together.

The question is; will the complaint by CIPPIC receive a fair hearing considering the interaction that the Canadian Privacy Commissioner has with Facebook, or should the Commissioner remove herself as a conflict of interest and refer the matter to another government authority to investigate?