Saskatchewan’s privacy commissioner to begin publicly naming privacy violators

Computer code and text displayed on computer screens.

Those in government and public services who willfully violate the privacy of others will be publicly identified, according to Saskatchewan’s privacy commissioner.

Grace Hession David, the province’s Information and Privacy Commissioner, released her annual report on Thursday.

Over the course of the last reporting period, Hession David revealed her office has adopted a zero tolerance for the willful violation of privacy under provincial legislation.

“This office will now be naming those who have breached the privacy of the personal information and personal health information of the innocent victims of Saskatchewan who trust that their private information will be safe with government institutions and local authorities,” the commissioner wrote.

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The decision was made with the hope of raising awareness around privacy breaches, with the belief that calling out and identifying bad actors will help reduce the loss of trust in institutions when those breaches occur.

“Without a doubt, the worst consequence of a privacy breach – whether it be by unwarranted snooping on corporate databases or by direct invasions of privacy by cyber criminals – is the loss of trust in governmental institutions, local authorities and health care providers,” the report read.

The report also touches on public privacy concerns related to the rapid growth of AI.

“… the issues of excessive data collection, data sovereignty and the lack of informed consent with the eventual sharing of personal information are paramount when it comes to AI,” the report read.

Hession David cited the use of AI services by lawyers and medical doctors as examples of potential breaches, as the usage of such technology may waive client privileges or violate medical privacy regulations.

“Anything we file into the AI large language model domain is public – with very rare exceptions to date,” the commissioner noted.

“… AI is here and we need to understand that it must be harnessed and used with governance at all times to ensure privacy and the security of the individual/organizations that have adopted the technology.”

More to come…