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Frequently Asked Questions
General
Q: What organizations does the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA)cover?
A: PIPA covers personal information held by organizations, unless PIPA says it doesn't apply. An organization includes a corporation, a partnership, a sole proprietorship, an association that is not incorporated, a trade union, an amateur sports organization, a church or other religious
organization or a trust. PIPA also covers B.C. credit unions.
Collection of Personal Information
Q: An organization is asking to collect a lot of my personal information. Can
it do that?
A: Under PIPA you can ask the organization to tell you the purpose for which it is collecting the personal information, including whether and why
it needs all of the information.
Use of Personal Information
Q: Do organizations have to ask permission from their customers or clients to send them advertisements about upcoming promotions?
A: If an organization was using customer or client personal information for that purpose before PIPA came into force on January 1, 2004, it can still use the information for that purpose. If it did not use customer or client information for the purpose of notification of promotions, it must get permission from those
customers or clients to now send out information, as this would be a new use. However, all personal information collected from new or prospective clients after January 1, 2004 would be subject to the customer or client giving consent. Example: If you are a pizzeria owner, you most likely collect personal information from clients, including the person's name, telephone number and address, for the purpose of confirming a pizza order and for the home delivery of pizza orders. You would need that customer's consent to use the information for a different purpose, like sending out promotional information.
Q: If my name appears in the newspaper and I didn't give consent for
it to include my name in the story, is that an improper use of my personal information?
A: PIPA does not apply to certain kinds of information. It does not apply to personal information collected, used or disclosed for artistic, journalistic or literary purposes. This protects freedom of expression for newspapers. However, PIPA does apply to personal information collected by a newspaper’s circulation department for the purpose of delivery of a paper and collection of subscription monies.
Disclosure of Personal Information
Q: Can an organization give out my personal information without my consent?
A: PIPA allows for disclosure of personal information without
consent in certain specified cases . A few examples of this are:
- disclosure is to a public body or a law enforcement agency in Canada to assist an investigation of an offence under the laws of Canada or a province of Canada. An example is disclosure to the police when investigating a robbery.
- if an individual is injured or ill and next of kin must be notified
- when another Act or regulation requires or allows the disclosure without consent, as in the employer disclosing an employee's income as required by the
Income Tax Act.
Q: My employer says he doesn't need my consent for
him to collect, use or disclose my personal information
for work purposes. Is this true?
A: PIPA contains special rules for "employee
personal information". This is personal information
that's "reasonably" required to establish,
manage or terminate your employment with your employer.
Your employer doesn't need your consent to collect, use
or disclose your employee personal information for these
purposes. But your employer still must give you
notice of collection and your rights of access and
correction (mentioned below) still apply (and, as noted
below, your employer cannot charge you a fee for
accessing your employee personal information). Also, if
your employer wants to collect, use or disclose personal
information for purposes other than the employment
relationship, PIPA's usual rules about consent apply.
Q: What if I am a volunteer with an organization. Can it give out my personal information without my consent?
A: PIPA treats volunteers in the same way as employees. It also treats apprentices and work experience or co-op students as employees. As a volunteer, your personal information would be subject to the same rules under PIPA as a paid employee.
Access to Personal Information
Q: What kind of information can I request from organizations in BC under PIPA?
A: You can ask to see your own personal information contained in any records in an organization’s control. You can’t get someone else’s personal information and your own personal information can be withheld in some
other cases, as set out in PIPA.
Q: If I submit an access request for my personal information under PIPA, can I be charged for this?
A: PIPA allows an organization to charge a “minimal” fee for responding to a request for access to personal information. Fees should include actual out-of-pocket costs such as copy charges and postage. An organization may not charge a fee to one of its employees for
access to the employee's own personal information.
Complaints
Q: I have issues with an organization. What can the OIPC do to help me?
A: We can assist, generally, with issues pertaining to the collection, use or disclosure of your personal information by an organization. You must first direct your complaint to the organization to give it an opportunity to respond to your questions or complaints. We will
generally only take your complaint if you
have already attempted to resolve your dispute with the
organization and the organization has failed to resolve
it.
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