The Canadian Privacy Law Blog: Developments in privacy law and writings of a Canadian privacy lawyer, containing information related to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (aka PIPEDA) and other Canadian and international laws.

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The author of this blog, David T.S. Fraser, is a Canadian privacy lawyer who practices with the firm of McInnes Cooper. He is the author of the Physicians' Privacy Manual. He has a national and international practice advising corporations and individuals on matters related to Canadian privacy laws.

For full contact information and a brief bio, please see David's profile.

Please note that I am only able to provide legal advice to clients. I am not able to provide free legal advice. Any unsolicited information sent to David Fraser cannot be considered to be solicitor-client privileged.

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The views expressed herein are solely the author's and should not be attributed to his employer or clients. Any postings on legal issues are provided as a public service, and do not constitute solicitation or provision of legal advice. The author makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained herein or linked to. Nothing herein should be used as a substitute for the advice of competent counsel.

This web site is presented for informational purposes only. These materials do not constitute legal advice and do not create a solicitor-client relationship between you and David T.S. Fraser. If you are seeking specific advice related to Canadian privacy law or PIPEDA, contact the author, David T.S. Fraser.

Wednesday, April 21, 2004

Article: Privacy issues develop over work done overseas

The issue of the privacy of personal information shipped overseas in connection with outsourcing is not a new issue, but an important one ...

Duluth News Tribune | 04/18/2004 | Privacy issues develop over work done overseas:

"The growing business of shipping sensitive personal data overseas threatens the privacy rights of U.S. citizens, according to Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and other foes of outsourcing.

Clinton is pushing legislation that would make U.S. businesses legally liable if a foreign subcontractor abuses American privacy laws.

The bill also would require U.S. businesses -- such as accounting firms, physicians, hospitals and banks -- to gain consent from consumers before shipping their private data to an overseas contractor if the Federal Trade Commission has determined that the country where the contractor is based doesn't have adequate privacy laws.

The privacy issue gained the attention of lawmakers after a Pakistani woman, Lubna Baloch, who transcribed confidential medical records of patients at UC San Francisco Medical Center, threatened to post them on the Internet last October unless the hospital helped her collect an overdue bill from a man who hired her as a medical transcription subcontractor.

Baloch withdrew her threat after she was paid.

Sue Blevins, president of the Institute for Health Freedom, a nonprofit concerned with medical privacy, said if personal information like mental illness, alcoholism treatment, marriage counseling, illegal drug use or a sexually transmitted disease gets out to the public, 'it could be devastating and cause emotional pain and affect people's career, families or even the ability to get a mortgage.'"

As I've said before, nearshore outsourcing to places like Nova Scotia does not have the same risk as outsourcing to Asia. Check out Nova Scotia Business Inc.

Labels: health information, information breaches