Technology can be your friend, make research easier to do, make your company more efficient, give access to markets and information that were previously inaccessible, open up many lines of quick and easy communication, and even let you shop without leaving your desk. Technology has changed everything from the way you pay your bills and make telephone calls to the way every business functions. And that’s just scratching the surface.
Along with all the improvements and positive impact, technology may also have a negative impact on our society and our system of justice — and most of those revolve around the issue of privacy. For example, does making court records, which have traditionally been public but only available to those with the time and energy to go to a courthouse, available on the Internet have unacceptable consequences for privacy? Does the fact that we have increasingly sophisticated systems of electronic surveillance change the way we need to think about privacy rights, not just in the criminal justice system but in the civil justice system as well? Those are just a couple of privacy questions facing the justice system, and that too just scratches the surface.
The tentacles of technology and its effect on privacy reach out and touch every aspect of life as we know it, and I don’t think that’s an exaggeration. To what extent does the law protect the privacy of employees and customers in the world of commerce, and what are the implications for businesses of our efforts to extend this protection? How much information does an individual give up in order to take advantage of the conveniences and pleasures of various technologies? Many people are indifferent and give up much in order to benefit but should there be legal limits imposed on what can be done with that information? What about the information Canadians provide that is housed or collected beyond our borders?
Beyond the commercial uses, there is, of course, the vexing question of privacy rights in an age of heightened national security concerns. It’s not only about how the many Canadian law enforcement agencies communicate with each other about what is happening at home but how they communicate such information with other countries and how that information is used. Think Maher Arar.
Privacy issues are some of the most complex and diverse out there. Just thinking about it can boggle the mind, so imagine being Canada’s privacy commissioner. Jennifer Stoddart has what some might consider the unenviable role of trying to digest, unravel, and provide guidance on these issues at every level: individual, government, corporate, private sector, public sector. In this month’s cover story, Canadian Lawyer writer Glenn Kauth paints a picture of the trials and tribulations faced by the privacy commissioner in the pursuit of the balance of these many and varied interests. It’s a tough job, particularly coming in on the heels of the previous privacy commissioner, George Radwanski, who left the office in a bit of a shambles, but Stoddart seems mostly to be getting it down — slowly but surely.
— Gail J. Cohen
