Provincial laws need to be updated to take into account how sensors, artificial intelligence and big data analytics interact with personal information, according to Brian Beamish’s annual report. Beamish is also calling for political parties to be subject to additional privacy requirements when it comes to handling data and for artificial intelligence to be widely adopted in the health sector to reduce privacy violations. (The Logic)

Talking point: Beamish’s recommendations echo those made by his counterparts at the federal level and in British Columbia for widespread changes to privacy laws in light of the growing power and ubiquity of technology. The growing consensus among government watchdogs hasn’t translated to very many changes in law. That’s likely to change in the next few years. The federal government, for example, is currently considering regulatory changes stemming out of its National Digital and Data Consultations, and has also struck a panel to look at the Telecommunications and Radiocommunication acts. Beamish’s recommendations will give further weight to privacy advocates who have been sounding similar warnings. In particular, his report echoes many of the concerns that experts and activists have raised about Sidewalk Labs’ proposed smart-city development in Toronto, the roughly 1,500-page plan for which was released earlier this week.