Canadian Privacy Commissioner Releases Findings on Electronic Signature

Recently, the Canadian Privacy Commissioner released his findings on a complaint by two individuals that a courier company had improperly collected and posted their electronic signatures on the company's website without their consent. The Commissioner found that the courier company had breached the Personal Information and Electric Documents Act (PIPEDA) when it collected electronic signatures by requiring recipients to sign electronically as a condition for receiving their parcels. In addition, the courier's practice of posting electronic signatures on the company's website without consent as part of an online tracking service was also found to contravene PIPEDA. The courier company has changed its policy by allowing recipients to have their signatures removed from the website on request. To view the Commissioner's findings, visit: http://www.privcom.gc.ca/cf-dc/cf-dc_020905_e.asp For a copy of PIPEDA, visit: http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/publaw/46330_17799.html