Introduction

I never said, “I want to be alone.” I only said, “I want to be let alone!” There is all the difference.

— Greta Garbo

Digital technology has profoundly changed the way we learn, work, communicate, play, and enjoy culture. It has become such a ubiquitous part of our lives — and brings so many tangible benefits — that we might overlook the not-so-obvious costs.

Perhaps chief among those costs is the surrender of our privacy, threads of personal information from the fabric of our online existence. Sometimes we unknowingly give up the cloak of anonymity through the click of a mouse. But increasingly we are witting participants in handing over personal details as we navigate the online world.

Sharing photos, messages, and our likes and dislikes through social media is fun — not to mention free — and the fact a site such as Facebook harvests our information for commercial purposes in the process just seems part of the bargain. Googling has become a verb, and is now second nature, so we accept the targeted advertising that pops up as a result of our searches.

University of Victoria Political Science Professor Colin Bennett, one of the experts whose opinions we canvassed, put it succinctly: “Our lives are becoming more transparent to multiple organizations.”

This book will make you more aware of these transactions, help you better understand them, and show you practical ways to minimize your digital footprint. It is organized around the activities of daily life — at home, at work, in transit, crossing the border and, of course, online.

By the time you read this, there will no doubt be both new ways of interacting with the world that put your privacy at risk and fresh solutions for protecting your personal information. Privacy in the modern age is a fast-moving target, but we hope this guide hits the immediate mark and gives you a sense of where it’s all going.

Privacy Principles

The right to privacy has been neatly summarized as the right to be left alone. For our purposes, we will broaden that notion to embrace principles embodied in Canada’s federal privacy regime:

• Information should be collected, used, and shared only for specific purposes.

• Data should be stored and disposed of responsibly.

• People should have a right to see information gathered about them.

• Upon being made aware of errors in a personal file, the holder should correct the information.

• People should have the right to complain if personal data is being used for unintended purposes.

In examining an array of issues — from crossing the border to the scourge of identity theft — we will look at how these basic principles apply. Wherever possible, the book will also emphasize what you can do to avoid, address, and remedy potential difficulties each privacy risk might present.