May 4th to 8th is Privacy Awareness Week in Canada and countries around the world. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) has announced the theme for Privacy Awareness Week 2026 as “protecting your privacy in the age of artificial intelligence (AI)”.
Privacy Awareness Week is a timely reminder of the vast amounts of data and personal information that AI technologies rely upon. The OPC calls upon businesses to prioritize privacy in how AI tools are developed and used. Organizations should consider privacy principles throughout the full lifecycle of AI tools, ensure transparency about data use, and adopt privacy-by-design practices.
Businesses using AI tools to process personal information can prioritize privacy in many ways:
- Clearly disclose when AI is used in generating content or making decisions
- Ensure lawful data collection and obtain meaningful user consent where required
- Be transparent about how personal information is used
- Make AI systems understandable and explainable to users
- Build privacy into design processes and consider impacts on vulnerable groups, such as children
Privacy Awareness Week highlights the importance of building trust through responsible data practices and calls businesses to take action to demonstrate accountability in managing personal information in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.
This resource is not intended to be a statement of the law and does not constitute legal advice. This resource is for information purposes only, no person should act or rely upon this information without seeking legal advice.
