OTTAWA — Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne proposed a replacement for Canada’s 22-year-old private-sector privacy rules Thursday, introducing a bill that would let regulators seek the biggest fines in the G7 for companies that abuse consumers’ data, add new digital protections for kids and govern businesses’ use of artificial intelligence.
Talking Point
The Liberal government’s second attempt to overhaul Canada’s decades-old consumer privacy law includes new protections for children and responds to some critics’ concerns over exceptions to consent for businesses and rules for de-identified data. Bill C-27 also establishes a new regulatory system for organizations using artificial intelligence.
Bill C-27 is the Liberal government’s second attempt to update the laws governing the use of personal information and data, after its previous proposal expired with last year’s summer election call. But plenty of what’s in Thursday’s legislation is new. The changes come after the Liberals’ first effort faced criticism from regulators and digital rights groups. Here’s what you need to know about what the Liberals are proposing, and how they’ve tried to address those flashpoints.
