Newfoundland and Labrador Information and Privacy Commissioner Michael Harvey joined privacy authorities from across the country in calling on their respective governments to improve privacy legislation and take immediate action to protect young people and employees – groups that are significantly vulnerable, each in their own way, to the growing influence of digital technologies.

Federal, provincial, and territorial Information and Privacy Commissioners met this week in Québec City for their annual meeting to discuss pressing concerns related to privacy and access to information. These discussions resulted in joint resolutions calling on governments to do more to protect the privacy rights of young people and workers.

For young people, the resolution focuses on the responsibility of organizations across all sectors to actively safeguard young people’s data through responsible measures, including minimized tracking, regulated data sharing, and stringent control over commercial advertising. It also calls on organizations to safeguard their rights to access, correction, and appeal regarding personal data.

The employee privacy resolution addresses the recent proliferation of employee monitoring software and how it has revealed that laws protecting workplace privacy are either out-of-date or absent altogether. In our increasingly digital work environments, there need to be robust and relevant privacy protections in place to safeguard workers from overly intrusive monitoring by employers.

Privacy of young people
Youth have a right to privacy across all sectors. Privacy authorities say that governments and businesses must put young people’s interests first by setting clear limits on when and how their personal information may be used or shared. They called on their respective governments to review, amend, or adopt legislation as necessary to ensure that it includes strong safeguards, transparency requirements and access to remedies for young people. They also called on government institutions to ensure that their practices prioritize a secure, ethical, and transparent digital environment for youth.

The resolution notes that while the digital environment presents many opportunities for young people, it has also brought well-documented harms, including the impact of social media on physical and mental health. Regulators say that special protections are essential for younger generations, because their information can live online for a long time, and may become a life-long reputational burden.

The resolution also calls on organizations to adopt practices that promote the best interests of young people, ensuring not only the safeguarding of young people’s data, but also empowering them with the knowledge and agency to navigate digital platforms and manage their data safely, and with autonomy. Initial steps include identifying and minimizing privacy risks at the design stage. Other recommendations include making the strongest privacy settings the default; turning off location tracking; and rejecting deceptive practices and incentives that influence young people to make poor privacy decisions or to engage in harmful behaviours.

Commissioner Harvey said, “Young people are growing up in a digital world that continues to change around them at a rapid pace. It is our responsibility to them to ensure that our privacy laws and practices be updated to match this technological evolution and keep the rights and best interests of children at the forefront.”

Privacy in the workplace
With the shift towards increased remote work arrangements and use of monitoring technologies in this digital world, the privacy authorities called on governments to develop or strengthen laws to protect employee privacy. They also urged employers to be more transparent and accountable in their workplace monitoring policies and practices.

Employee monitoring has undergone substantial expansion in its use, technological capabilities and application in recent years. Many employers have accelerated the use of monitoring technologies as they seek new ways of tracking employee’s performance and activities on-premises or remotely, whether during work or off hours.

Although some level of information collection is reasonable and may even be necessary to manage the employer-employee relationship, the adoption of digital surveillance technologies can have disproportionate impacts on employees’ privacy and can significantly impact an employee’s career and overall well-being, including heightened stress levels and other adverse mental health effects, not to mention reduced autonomy and creativity.

The resolution calls for a collective effort from governments and employers to address statutory gaps, respect and protect employee rights to privacy and transparency, and ensure the fair and appropriate use of electronic monitoring tools and AI technologies in the modern workplace.

Commissioner Harvey said, “Privacy in the workplace is important to employee morale, safety and mutual trust. Laws that protect employee privacy rights are essential in a world where technological advancement offers employers easy-to-use monitoring tools that can be overly invasive, harmful, and contrary to the notion of privacy as a basic human right.”

Related content:
Resolution: Putting best interests of young people at the forefront of privacy and access to personal information

Resolution: Protecting Employee Privacy in the Modern Workplace

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Media contact
Sean Murray
Director of Research and Quality Assurance
709-729-6309