Announcement
October 18, 2010
ARCHIVED - Privacy Commissioner of Canada launches enhanced privacy tool for businesses
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) is marking Small Business Week (October 17-23) by launching an enhanced on-line tool to help businesses protect their customers’ privacy. The tool helps businesses figure out how much information they should have about their customers and how to protect it.
“Businesses – big and small – are now collecting personal information about their customers,” says Privacy Commissioner of Canada Jennifer Stoddart. “And while most follow privacy laws and handle data safely, many still need help to establish the necessary privacy practices that will protect their customers and garner their trust.”
The Privacy for Small Business online tool offers interactive privacy assessment specifically designed for businesses. It leads users step-by-step through the information they need to comply with privacy laws and to provide customers with the privacy protection they expect.
The tool is easy to use, and the assessment can be completed in approximately a half an hour. At the end, a business owner will have:
- An information audit of their business
- Consent provisions required specifically for their business
- A security plan for protecting personal information in their care
- A sample privacy brochure for their customers
- A training needs assessment
Privacy is an important issue for businesses and their customers. In a poll conducted for the OPC, almost two-thirds (62%) of Canadians indicated that they feel protecting personal information is one of the most important issues facing us in the next decade. But only one-third (34%) said they were confident that companies have adequate security measures in place.
For more information, please see: