Three weeks into 2017 and things in the privacy world have never been busier. Just look at all the news in the following articles. Holy moly. There’s a lot, and each story says something about how we’re dealing with this new frontier we’re embarking on.

At Privacy After Hours last night, many of these stories came up. One conversation went into some depth about the CRA using Facebook posts to find tax cheats. It reminded me of the debates I have in CIPP/C training classes about information that is publicly available. Maybe it is time to say that the internet is another version of the public. Should our laws adapt? Or, should we still have relative anonymity when using social media outlets like Facebook (where the very notion of participating is about putting things out there)?

Did you enjoy a venue for Privacy After Hours last night? I know we had 61 events around the world. That's really quite something. I hope you were part of it. In Ottawa, a shout out goes to Anne-Marie Hayden from the OPC and her choice of venue, Beckta, for an extraordinary event where about 100 people showed up to network and swap stories. I was so inspired that I’m pocketing topics for future Digests.

Lastly, please remember that the IAPP encouraged Privacy After Hours this week because tomorrow, Jan. 28, is Data Privacy Day. While I don’t want to make it sound like the most important day of the year, I think it is, nonetheless, a big deal for privacy professionals and a great chance to take pause and realize the work we’re doing is meaningful and can impact both our freedoms and our capacity to innovate, ethically.

So take yourself out to brunch this weekend to celebrate.