A few of you wrote to me last week in response to my comments in the digest. Thank goodness it wasn’t hate mail. Here’s what I wrote in case you missed it.

Marty Abrams from the Information Accountability Foundation was just one person who reached out to me. He and I have thought about data ethics for a long time, but I have to say he is much more eloquent than me at articulating the pros of adopting privacy legislation with ethics at its core. He shared his recent blog post, in which he offers some of his ideas on this theme, and I encourage you all to read it.

Another very articulate person who wrote about data and how new technologies are changing the way humans interact with data was the legendary Ian Kerr. I had the occasion to re-read some of his writings this week as I prepared to teach my class at the law school at Ottawa University. I’m so glad Ian’s website is still up, and I’m grateful to be able go back to the content there. Here’s his site, and if you’re interested in knowing which article we discussed in my class, it’s here.

This week’s class was all about constitutional protection of privacy and, in particular, what it means to have a reasonable expectation of privacy in something, particularly in a world where it is sometimes hard to conclude that privacy even exists. Year over year, it’s the one students seem to find the most compelling because it really makes you think.

Speaking of Ian, the Kerr Memorial lecture remains a staple keynote of the IAPP Canada Symposium. The Symposium is taking place in person, in Toronto from May 24 to 27, and the agenda has just been announced. Another important keynote will be the Commissioner’s Annual Address, and it will be Daniel Therrien’s last one (unless he gets renewed again). If it is indeed his last keynote, I sure hope it’s a no-holds-barred speech, letting us know what he thinks about the state of privacy in Canada.

Beyond this, there are a ton of other things to start exploring on the Symposium website. Please dig in and start figuring out which sessions to prioritize. Remember, the early bird discount ends in a month, so don’t wait too long to register. I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone in person!