Notes from the IAPP Canada Managing Director, April 1, 2022

Well, I’m writing this post on my half-century birthday, so to mark it I'll share five trends in privacy I’m seeing and 10 privacy tips for privacy pros (5 x 10 — get it?). Hey, it’s easier than coming up with 50 different things, so humor me. 

Five trends in privacy:

1. Privacy metrics are becoming a hot topic. Have you read this report from the Future of Privacy Forum? Check it out.
2. The accountability principle is gaining strength. We see it in the new law in Quebec and it will undoubtedly play a big factor in the new PIPEDA.
3. On that note, we’re seeing a resurgence of lobbying efforts to impress upon the government some of the problems with the bill that died on the order paper. Any guesses as to whether we’ll see something in the next two months?
4. On the practical side, PIAs continue to be seen as a useful tool when they’re done at the right time. The Quebec law has made them obligatory in certain situations and ethical organizations are using them even when not legally obligated to.
5. Privacy pros seem to be more than ready to get back out there and attend in-person conferences. Our numbers for the Summit in Washington, D.C. and the Canadian Symposium look fantastic!

Ten tips for privacy pros:

1. Did you see my comment above about PIAs? Get 'em done.
2. If you think a PIA is overkill in some situations, do a PIA-lite. The point is to go through the process and identify risks you can mitigate.
3. Keep learning. Privacy education isn’t one and done. All the IAPP’s great resources, conferences and the
4. Give back with your knowledge of privacy, for example, by offering to give a class on the topic at your kids’ school.
5. Get to know the privacy pros in your community — participate in an upcoming KnowledgeNet.
6. Take your privacy program next-level by building in appropriate evaluation mechanisms like some of the privacy metric ideas above.
7. Be an enabler and help give privacy a good name by ensuring you’re the office of “here’s how” instead of the office of “no.”
8. Consider a mentorship. If you’re a new privacy pro, connect with a seasoned one who can share their vast experience. If you’ve been around the block, remember you can gain new ideas from the next generation.
9. The pandemic didn’t stop privacy work. If anything, the work multiplied. Take time to recharge.
10. Practice what you preach: Review the practices of the services you use and tighten up those privacy settings.

OK, I’m exhausted — imagine if we’d done 50! Have a great weekend everyone and enjoy catching up on this week’s news.