Quebec City- There are a lot of different situations where private information is being released for public access on the Internet, and the potential as well as the actual misuse of this information has been occurring with increased frequency.
The Open Court rule, which says that information that is presented in Court or released to the public as a result of Court Tribunals, is very important historically, but it has caused problems in ways that was not originally anticipated.
According to the Canadian Privacy Commissioner, Jennifer Stoddart, members of the general public are having their private information being posted on the Internet, and it is leading to usage that is not intended, and in some cases may even be against the law.
Ms. Stoddart addressed members of the Canadian Bar Association, and spoke to the misuse of this private information as a result of the Open Court rule.
“Members of the public are having their private information being posted on the Internet, as part of court cases or tribunals, and in some cases it can be accessed by people, such as prospective employers, that do not have a right to this private information,” said Ms. Stoddart.
This information gives people such as employer’s access to private information that by law should not be considered by potential employers, but is subject to open access because it is posted on the Internet.