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Zoombombing Class Action Settles for $85M
In re: Zoom Video Communications Inc Privacy Litigation, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 20-02155. Zoom shared personal information with (Microsoft’s) Linkedin, Google, and Facebook (something Microsoft Teams does every second) resulting in hackers taking control of meeting rooms with racial slurs and porn, a practice known as zoombombing. In reaching the settlement Zoom denied wrongdoing. https://www.reuters.com/technology/zoom-reaches-85-mln-settlement-lawsuit-over-user-privacy-zoombombing-2021-08-01/ This case should serve as a cautionary tale on the consequences of sharing your customers’ privacy information with major platforms. Even if you do so unwittingly, out of ignorance or blind trust in big tech, reckless data sharing attracts hackers and leads to cyber-security breaches that will eventually be blamed on…
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Google Indexing Of Personal Information Is Subject to PIPEDA (2021 FC 723)
Ever since Equustek, Google fails to convince Canadian courts of its “non-commercial” business model and its “freedom of expression” rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Unlike the USA where Google always wins (remember Oracle and fair use not so long ago), Canada maintains a tough stance on the search engine giant. Just out of Federal Court, it was held In the Matter of a Reference pursuant to subsection 18.3(1) of the Federal Courts Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. f-7 of questions or issues of law and jurisdiction concerning the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents act, s.c. 2000, c. 5 that have arisen in the course of an…
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Owsianik v. Equifax Canada, 2021 ONSC 4112
One in 6 Ontario class actions allege privacy violations. This dynamic may change following the Divisional Court’s determination in Ohsianik v. Equifax that collectors and guardians of personal data (“Database Defendants”) cannot be liable for intrusion upon seclusion when third parties steal or access that data. Liability is suppressed even where database defendants are alleged to have acted recklessly in the storage of that information such that the information was improperly accessed by a third party. https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onscdc/doc/2021/2021onsc4112/2021onsc4112.pdf
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Teksavvy Solutions and Bell Media, 2021FCA10
The Federal Court of Appeal confirmed a site blocking order that was touted as the “first ever” in Canada back in 2019. The Federal Court of Appeal is right. I sincerely hope to see such orders much more often and on an interlocutory basis. Too many defendants are using the morbid slowness inherent in our justice system to allege some bogus “rights” to be resolved at trial and commit unfettered infringement in the meantime. The order can be accessed here. IMHO, ISP-blocking must be available at an interim stage and even before. There should be a presumption in favor of blocking, to protect consumers, improve access to justice, block the…
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The Supreme Court Of Canada Confirms Privacy As Ground For Sealing Orders
In its decision in Sherman Estate v Donovan 2021 SCC 25 (Sherman), the Supreme Court of Canada recognized on Monday that the public interest in protecting individuals’ dignity is sufficiently important that a sealing order preventing disclosure of personal information may be granted. However, Sherman sets the bar for granting a sealing order protecting personal information very high. Only information that “reveals something intimate and personal about the individual, their lifestyle, or experiences,” such as sexual orientation or potentially stigmatizing medical information will likely support the granting of a sealing order. This is the first SCC judgment of its kind to give us a definition of dignity in the context of privacy and technology. Judicial…
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Google Wins Decade Old Fair Use Case
GOOGLE LLC v. ORACLE AMERICA, INC. is surprisingly elaborate considering that fair use doctrine is already settled. We think that Google could have won even without the fair use doctrine. Snippets of code must matter to deserve copyright protection. In Canada, Google would have lost under fair use doctrine, because commercial use always negates fair use under the Canadian Copyright Act. Canada doesn’t have much say on Any monetization in Canada will put you under the economic copyright regime, so you’ll need a licence. However, even though Google has business in Canada, it is safe to say that any significant tech-related lawsuit will be brought under US and California law…
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Ontario Human Rights Code On Psychometric Tests At Hiring
En Ontario, administrer des tests psychologiques avant l’embauche est considéré une violation de la vie privée et un motif valable de plainte pour discrimination. Le fait de ne pas être dotés d’une codification équivalente au Québec ne veut pas dire que ces arguments ne se plaident pas ici. L’Ontario est d’ores et déjà une juridiction aux lois très étoffés et qui donne toujours plus d’information et de ressources à ses citoyens en matière d’accès à la justice. http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/iv-human-rights-issues-all-stages-employment/6-requesting-job-related-sensitive-information Quelques surlignés: Au tout début de la page, on conseille aux employeurs de porter une attention particulière à la liste qui énumère les documents de nature confidentielle (dont les tests psychologiques), et…
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Protected: Personality And Psychometric Tests At Hiring And Their Impact On Data Protection
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
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Mega Lawsuit Against Facebook
US Federal Government and 48 States file anti-trust lawsuit against FB.
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Protected: Doing Away With Section 230 Is A Good Idea
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