Not once have I ever read a privacy policy. This is, of course, shameful to admit, especially for a Digital Tattoo contributor. But between the sheer length of privacy policies and the legalese in which they are often written, time spent reading them usually feels like time wasted. If only there were a cheat sheet to help us mere mortals understand what it is we are signing up for when we share our information with organizations such as Facebook and Twitter.
Good news! There’s a whole office for that. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) has an entire website full of resources to help Canadians navigate privacy both online and off, and I had the chance to sit down with OPC staff Anne-Marie Cenaiko at the 2019 Ontario Library Association Superconference to hear about all of these amazing resources. Ms. Cenaiko presented her talk, “Privacy Please! Helping Canadians to Protect Personal Information in the Digital Era,” on Wednesday January 30 to a room packed with librarians and other information professionals eager to help their communities better understand privacy. From youth to seniors, Ms. Cenaiko covered it all.
One particularly interesting revelation was that some privacy concerns are consistent across age groups despite generational gaps. For example, most seniors believe they have a good understanding of online privacy and most young people do not, however, both groups are concerned that they do not know exactly how their information is being used and by whom. Polls regularly show that 92% of Canadians are concerned about protecting their privacy, and over half of Canadians feel they have lost control over the collection and use of their data. As a result, the OPC has a variety of resources to appeal to and help various age groups. They also regularly update their online privacy guidelines. Here’s one privacy hint you may not have heard before: the OPC now suggests that individuals who cannot remember passwords write down their passwords and store them in a locked place such as a filing cabinet. This is contrary to earlier recommendations that passwords not be written down, which were then updated to accommodate the needs of seniors and other members of the public who might not be able to remember multiple passwords.
While the OPC has lots of information on what to do when you feel your data is being misused (feel free to file a report), they are most interested in helping people prevent privacy breaches. This includes a strong focus on educating children about privacy with the hope that they will grow up equipped to protect their privacy in the future. They have resources for teachers, parents, and organizations that use youth’s data to help ensure that youth are thoroughly educated on their privacy, and that they are protected in the meantime.
All OPC resources can be requested for free from the Office, and many can be downloaded directly from their website for use and for distribution. One thing Ms. Cenaiko made perfectly clear is that we are all encouraged to share these resources widely. Pass them on to your uncle who keeps responding to anonymous princes who email him asking for money, your sibling who is determined to become an Instagram influencer, and your best friend who has somehow been catfished on Tinder three times. They all need the resources the OPC has on offer. After all, Ms. Cenaiko told the room, the best way to help your friends and family protect themselves is to share with them techniques for doing so.
Oh, and not sure about those terms and agreements? Check out Jenny Mugridge’s “What did I Just Agree To?” Spoiler: Spotify’s Terms and Agreements are almost as long as a Shakespearean play.
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Written By: Samantha Summers
Edited By: Elyse Hill
Feature image: Source. Licensed for use under Creative Commons Zero-CC0 licensing.
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