The minister of Justice, Sonia LeBel, filed Friday a bill that will impose fines of up to $ 25 million or up to 4 % of the global turnover of the undertaking if the amount is higher.
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June 12, 2020 15h41
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Personal data Protection: up to $ 25 Million fine, offers the CAQ
The canadian Press
Quebec does not intend to flirt with the businesses who neglect the protection of personal information of their customers.
“Our current laws lack the “teeth”, decided the minister in introducing the piece of legislation that seeks to impose “dissuasive sanctions” for violators.
At present, the fines range from $ 1,000 to $ 10,000, while Quebec aims to fix now the minimum fine to $15,000.
“Those who have experienced identity theft, you know the consequences can be very costly and follow you for many years,” noted Ms. LeBel in a press conference.
Bill 64, that the minister has described as”extremely strong”, aims to give citizens full control of their personal information and empower the organizations that use this information, she explained.
Ms. LeBel gave an example that all the users have lived to illustrate one of the means of defence provided.
“You went shopping for a bbq. All of a sudden on your Facebook and on your Instagram but we also offer barbecues to rehearsal. With the bill, I’ll be able to disable that function and say I want to shop for a barbecue without after that make me bomb.”
The citizen will have to give an “informed” consent, and “separate” to the use of their personal information. In other words, the company must explain to him clearly what his client is preparing to give consent, and do so at every step.
The companies will also have the obligation to destroy or de-identify personal information where the intended use will be completed. Nevertheless, a citizen may request at any time that their information be destroyed.
All companies doing business in Québec must also inform the Commission of access to information and citizens of a leak of data, as well as keep a register of all breaches of confidentiality.
The bill, which is inspired by european legislation, applies to the personal information of quebec customers of all the companies who do business in the province, including federally chartered businesses. The political parties will also be subject to certain provisions.
A judge will determine the amount of the fine according to the seriousness of the incident, including the number of people affected, if it is a first conviction, if the business has received any warnings, if it has complied with the tags, etc
The information of millions of people in Quebec have been compromised in many data leaks in recent years, including a theft that has affected 4.4 million members of Desjardins group.
The minister was unable to say at this stage if his bill would have prevented the leak of data at Desjardins. It believes, however, that his bill adds to the government’s Policy of cyber-security and the draft law on credit-rating agencies to form a “trio” that will help to “minimize the risk”.
The study of the bill will begin in the fall.
