On October 11, 2023, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) launched a public consultation on draft guidance relating to the handling of biometric information for both public and private sector organizations.
The OPC’s existing guidance regarding the handling of biometric information was published in 2011. In recent years, biometric technology has been the subject of OPC investigations, including police use of facial recognition technology, as previously reported in the E-TIPS® Newsletter here.
The draft guidance proposes to update information on privacy obligations, considerations, and best practices for handling biometric information in light of recent developments in technologies, including fingerprinting, voice identification, and facial recognition. The draft guidance is divided into two documents: one for private sector organizations and one for public institutions. Specifically, the draft guidance documents address issues relating to consent, limiting collection, use, disclosure and retention, safeguards, accuracy, accountability, and openness.
The consultation period is open until January 12, 2024. For information on how to participate, please see here.
Summary By: Victoria Di Felice
E-TIPS® ISSUE
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