Leaving a review online is like knowing that laws are in place to keep your personal info private. In Canada, we have something called PIPEDA that tells businesses how to manage your data. And pretty soon, there will be an even stronger law called CPPA that will take things to a whole new level. The CPPA is going to change everything when it comes to protecting your privacy in Canada.
For starters, businesses are going to have to be way more careful about your permission before they find or share any information from your reviews. If they don’t they could face fines – we’re talking as much as $25 million! That’ll make them think twice. But that’s not all.
With the CPPA, you’re also going to have new rights over your data. For example if you choose not to let a company keep your information anymore you can tell them to delete it. They have to listen. That means that if you’re writing a review or reading one, these laws keep your personal information safe and sound. That’s part of what we’ve seen recently.
Let’s talk about this some more and learn what PIPEDA means for you.
The Points Under PIPEDA
When customers leave reviews for your business, you have to follow some pretty strict rules that restrict how you manage that data.
It’s all part of PIPEDA – which is basically the law that shapes how businesses can find and use personal information here in Canada. First off, you need to get clear consent from your customers before you find any of their personal facts. That means you have to tell them why you need their information and how you’re planning to use it. You can’t just bury it in the fine print or use legal language that nobody grasps.
Businesses don’t even realize that their review systems fall under these laws. The thing is, customer reviews usually have personal information in them without people realizing it. For example, if someone leaves a negative review about a product, they might accidentally show some of their health conditions. Or if they leave a positive review about a financial service, they might end up disclosing their income or investment habits.
Requesting consent means you must be clear about what’ll happen with that review data and you need to explain if you’re planning to share those reviews on other websites or use them for your marketing materials. Once a customer can give you some consent, you can’t later choose to use their reviews for something they didn’t agree to.
Just look at what happened to Facebook. They faced heavy consequences for mishandling personal data through their Graph API. The court ruled that Facebook didn’t get real consent from their users. People just weren’t well informed about how their information was going to be shared and PIPEDA gives customers rights over their review content. They can request access to the data you have on them and ask you to correct information that’s inaccurate and in some cases they might even withdraw their consent and have their reviews removed completely.
As a business, you have to be careful about what personal information you get through your reviews, and you should only find what you actually need for legitimate purposes. If you start storing too many personal facts, you’re just creating liability and possible privacy breaches. You also have to make sure that you have strong security measures in place to protect that review data, and if you violate PIPEDA, the penalties can be pretty extreme. You might run into investigations by the Privacy Commissioner or even get slapped with legal problems. Honestly, the damage from privacy violations can sometimes be way worse than any formal penalties. Savvy businesses look at PIPEDA compliance as a chance to build trust with their customers.
Oh, and just so you’re aware, there’s a new law coming soon called the Consumer Privacy Protection Act (CPPA). It’s going to strengthen these requirements even more. We’re talking about stronger enforcement powers and might even have heavier penalties. Plus, the CPPA is going to need even more transparent consent processes for review systems. So, it’s something to watch on your radar.
Proposed CPPA Provisions
You need to get started at the CPPA because it’s an upgrade from PIPEDA. It gives the Privacy Commissioner of Canada quite a bit more power to investigate and enforce privacy rules. If a company breaks the rules, the Commissioner can now order them to stop collecting data or delete personal information that they shouldn’t have.
Consent is also a much bigger deal under the CPPA. Businesses have to be clear about why they’re collecting information and how they plan to use it. They also need to spell out consequences and let people know about third parties who might see the data. This can help give you customer reviews since personal facts are shared right away.
One of the most known changes is that regular people can now sue businesses that violate the CPPA and cause them harm. This is called a private right of action. If a business messes up and mishandles review data or has a breach that exposes customer information, they could get hit with legal problems. Affected people might sue them.
The financial stakes are also way higher now. Businesses can be fined as much as $10 million or 3% of their widespread revenue for violations. More serious offenses could cost them $25 million or 5% of widespread revenue.
Review platforms and businesses that collect customer feedback have a tougher time if they ignore these changes than if they follow them. You’ll need stronger consent processes before grabbing review data and better security systems will also be needed to protect reviewer information. Businesses have to be a bit clearer about how they use and share the feedback they find too.
The CPPA also covers newer technologies like automated choice-making systems – this could affect review places that use algorithms to analyze or display feedback. The law says there needs to be more transparency about how these systems work. It also covers how they might affect people. Data from young people also gets extra protection. Any review information from minors under 16 is now considered sensitive information. That means extra protection and consent requirements for businesses collecting reviews from teenagers.
How It Affects Reviews
There’s a great chance you shared things like your name, your email address – and maybe even some facts about what you bought. Well, businesses can’t just go and find that information without your permission. They have to be clear about why they want it and what they’re planning to do with it. These laws also say that businesses should only collect the bare minimum amount of information they need for reviews. So they shouldn’t be asking for your birthday if all they need is to make sure that you actually bought something.
And they can’t just keep your data forever. Once they’ve used it for what they needed, they’re supposed to delete it. As a reviewer, you have some real rights, too. You can ask to see what personal information a company has stored about you. And if something’s wrong, you can ask them to fix it.
If you think a company isn’t following the rules with your data, you can even call them out and challenge them. Sometimes, businesses make mistakes when they’re dealing with people’s review data. Some will hide the part about your consent in a long privacy policy. Others might find way more information than they actually need. And some might even share your data with other businesses without making it crystal clear to you first.
If a business breaks these rules, it can get into serious issues. Under PIPEDA, businesses can get fined as much as $100,000 for each violation. And if the CPPA gets passed, those penalties are going to get a whole lot bigger. Businesses could end up paying as much as $10 million or 3% of the revenue they make worldwide.
Stronger Enforcement Options
You’re going to want to get started at this because the CPPA is about to shake things up in a giant way. It affects any business dealing with personal information in Canada. It doesn’t have much bite – it’s putting some good muscle behind privacy protection. And just thinking about the fines shows that they’re actually a deal. We’re talking about $10 million or 3% of widespread revenue, whichever one stings more. But that’s just for starters – serious screw-ups could cost you $25 million or 5% of what you make worldwide. Even if you’re a small business, an easy mistake could mean shelling out thousands per violation.
A few things could land you in hot water – not reporting data breaches, for one. If your customers’ info gets out there and you stay quiet about it, you’re in for a hurt. You also have to tell people how you’re keeping their data, and if someone asks to see their records, the timing of deleting them matters.
The scary part is how fast these fines can pile up. There’s no limit to how much they can smack you with in total. Those little slip-ups can snowball into a financial nightmare that would make even the big dogs sweat.
Plus, the CPPA is creating a whole new tribunal just for privacy screw-ups. This group’s entire job is to manage these cases and drop those massive fines that the Commissioner suggests. So, if you’re a business, you might not be able to just sweep privacy problems under the rug and hope they go away. This has serious implications for your customer reviews setup. Any personal info you find, you better protect it and be clear about how you’re handling it. Names and email addresses – even IP addresses – all count under these strict rules. Every single review in your database could come back to bite you if you don’t manage it right.
For Compliance
You want to find customer reviews for your business. However, there are some privacy laws that you need to keep in mind. These laws might feel pretty tough at first glance. But they come down to a few main things for keeping people’s personal information safe. Before you start grabbing any kind of review data from your customers, you need to get their permission first. Businesses often trip up here and end up collecting more data than they need.
Your privacy policy is another big one. You have to make sure that it is easy to find. Nobody wants to dig through legal stuff just to leave a review for your product, especially when you’re talking about how you manage personal information. Only collect the bare minimum amount of data you need for reviews. For a product review, you don’t need things like someone’s whole address or their birthday.
Once you have that review data, you need to store it somewhere safe and make sure it’s encrypted. You also want to be careful about who can see this information within your company. Customer trust matters, and it doesn’t take much to lose if you’re not handling data correctly. People should also be able to access or delete their review data if they want to. They have the right to know what kind of information you have on them. They should be able to get rid of their reviews if they change their mind.
If you don’t follow these rules, the consequences can be pretty extreme. Home Depot Canada got hit with an $80,000 fine for not handling customer information in reviews. Your business could end up in a similar situation if you’re not careful. Make sure that you train your staff on how to manage reviews in a way that respects people’s privacy. Most privacy problems happen when employees don’t know the rules. Regular training helps you avoid those kinds of expensive mistakes.
The CPPA that’s in the works will come with even stricter penalties than PIPEDA, up to 4% of your revenue or $25 million. That means sticking to the rules is a big deal now. One last thing to keep in mind – you should only hold onto review data for as long as you actually need it. Once those old reviews have done their job, it’s time to delete them or remove any personal information they may have.
Monitor and Manage Your Reputation
You’re probably thinking about how these big changes that are coming up will affect your business if you keep collecting personal information in reviews. You can avoid serious problems down the road by being proactive. That’s no joke!
There is a combination of concern and confusion about what steps to take next. You’re not alone.
Lots of business owners I talk to are in the same boat when you have to get through these giant regulatory changes. But here’s the news: there are things you can do to get ready and protect your business.
When people feel like you’re handling their information with respect, they’re way more likely to connect with your business and leave honest reviews. That’s a win. So take a bit of time to review your latest practices for dealing with personal information in reviews and see if there are any areas where you might need to make some changes to get ready for stricter requirements.
Now, I know making preparations for these changes can seem a bit stressful. But here’s the thing: you don’t have to get through these waters alone. You have Canada’s experts in handling reviews, social media, public relations, and crisis response right here who’ll help. If you have problems with cancel culture or are trying to build a stronger business reputation, we have your back.
All you have to do is reach out to Reputation.ca, and we’ll give you expert advice customized specifically to your situation. It’s that easy. Get in touch today!
