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Privacy Commissioner Rules Against Call Display
On April 28, 2003, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada issued his finding that a telephone company which displayed, via call display, the name and telephone number of subscribers who had non-published numbers in directory listings when call display came into effect (pre-existing subscribers), contravened the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act. The Commissioner determined that the telephone company had not obtained the informed consent of pre-existing subscribers, as required under Principle 4.3 of the Act.
The Commissioner acknowledged that the company had made efforts to inform subscribers of the privacy implications of call display. However, he was of the view that more of an effort should have been made to alert pre-existing subscribers to this fact, given what he felt was the reasonable expectation of customers who subscribed to have their number omitted from directory listings, to also have their number not appear on call display screens.
For a copy of the finding, visit: