Most Canadians feel their personal data is more exposed than ever: poll

The majority of Canadians feel their personal data is more exposed now than ever before, a new poll indicates.

The findings come from a recent survey by Interac that found 77 per cent of Canadians believe that to be true, while 72 per cent say companies have too much of their data, yet only 40 per cent feel confident in their ability to keep their online personal information safe.

“Consumers are increasingly concerned about the privacy and security of their personal data and are dissatisfied with the status quo,” said Colette Stewart, managing counsel and enterprise privacy lead at Interac, in a statement Tuesday.

“Our survey results underscore the opportunity to build Canadians’ confidence by simplifying the consent process for when, where, and how frequently they share their data — and subsequently the role organizations play in meeting these needs and expectations.”

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Roughly 1,500 Canadians participated in the online survey, which was conducted Jan. 2-4.

Of those respondents, 80 per cent said they want greater control over their online information and how it is shared, while 87 per cent said they should have the ability to tell organizations to delete their personal information whenever they choose.

When it comes to consent, 59 per cent said they can’t clearly consent to how their personal information is shared because they don’t understand the terms and conditions they are agreeing to, and 65 per cent said it’s because the language describing data usage is often vague.

Data privacy has become a growing issue as of late.

In September, the office of Privacy Commissioner Philippe Dufresne found Canada Post had broken privacy laws by using Canadians’ personal information in an unauthorized manner.

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His office said the data collected by Canada Post was used to create mail-marketing lists rented to businesses, in a program called Smartmail Marketing. The Crown corporation said it was conducting a review of its marketing program amid the findings.

Another high-profile data privacy story last year was related to retailer Indigo. Canada’s biggest bookstore chain was targeted in a ransomware attack last February. After refusing to pay a ransom, Indigo said it expected stolen data of current and former employees to appear on the dark web.

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Ottawa is proposing three new laws to give Canadians more control over how companies use their personal data.

Bill C-27, or the Digital Charter Implementation Act, 2022, includes three new sections around consumer privacy protection, personal information and artificial intelligence. It also includes a focus on the protection of children online. Bill C-27 is currently making its way through committee.

Other key findings from the Interac survey included that 48 per cent of Canadians were very concerned about how connected technologies are using their personal information, and that 66 per cent of Canadians believe companies are sharing their data and personal information with other organizations without their consent.

Hill & Knowlton used the Leger Opinion online panel to survey 1,500 Canadians over the period Jan. 2-4, 2024. Sampling was done within age, gender, and region quotas. The length of survey was 10 minutes. Data was weighted on age, gender, and region according to 2021 census figures. Generation Z is defined as Canadians aged 18-27, millennials are aged 28-43, generation Xers are aged 44-59, baby boomers are aged 60-78, and the silent generation is aged 79+. An associated margin of error for a randomly selected sample of n=1,500 would be ±2.5%, 19 times out of 20.