The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) is Canada's main federal law relating to privacy in the private sector. It covers personal information collected, used or disclosed while carrying out commercial activities.
In general, PIPEDA applies to private-sector organizations across Canada that collect, use or disclose personal information in the course of a commercial activity. This broad coverage would then include many professionals (accountants, lawyers), consultants and freelancers to name a few.
Businesses must follow the 10 fair information principles to protect personal information, which are set out in Schedule 1 of PIPEDA.
The principles are:
When implemented correctly in your compliance program, ClientTable can support your compliance with establishing appropriate Safeguards (principle 7) and give tools to Limit Use, Disclosure, and Retention (principle 5).
Organizations must: “Protect personal information in a way that is appropriate to how sensitive it is... Protect all personal information (regardless of how it is stored) against loss, theft, or any unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use or modification.”
“NOTE: PIPEDA does not specify particular security safeguards that must be used. Your organization must continually ensure it adequately protects the personal information in its care as technologies evolve and as new risks emerge.”
When you use ClientTable, you can be sure that we continually review technology standards and utilize best security practices. We employ numerous layers of protection ensuring your data (and your client’s data) is safe in transmission, in storage and backed-up. You can read more on our security page.
Responsibilities:
“Know what personal information you have, where it is, and what you are doing with it... Put guidelines and procedures in place for retaining and destroying personal information.”
With ClientTable you can be more organized in how you handle client communication, information and documents. With a central repository for information, it's easier to find, remove and act on any data requests. This could save you hours and make you more compliant when compared to sifting through years of emails and unorganized client data.
Additional Information can be found here: PIPEDA in brief
Disclaimer: ClientTable is not a compliance consulting or legal firm. The above information should not be taken as legal advice and is general in nature. While we cannot provide legal advice, we're happy to point you in the right direction. Feel free to contact us at support@clienttable.com.
Yes. As a Canadian business who is subject to PIPEDA, we comply with and have established practices to adhere to PIPEDA requirements. Additional details can be found in our Terms of Service , Privacy Policy and Security pages.
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