FIPPA, PIPA, Privacy, and Consent Resources

It is second nature to most to take selfies, share them on instagram, Snapchat, etc., but once you move into the role of a public school teacher, you must adhere to the laws set out by the B.C. Office of Information and Privacy Commissioner. Their office has put together guidelines for you to follow to better understand what the rules are and how to get consent, which is detailed on page 4:

BC Cloud Computing Guidelines for public bodies (PDF)

and you can review the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act here.

Each school district, post-secondary institution, health unit, etc. will have their own process (which may range from not allowing use of tools to pressure to integrate more tools from outside of Canada), so it is important to understand your context. “Public bodies” follow FIPPA laws, while “private bodies” follow PIPA laws. Public bodies are like education or health organizations, while private bodies are companies. As individuals, you must also consider your conduct.

You may find some employers, supervisors, or staff breaking these rules as they may not be aware of them. It is important for you to enter the field and uphold the law, regardless of the culture you enter. This does not mean that you do not engage online or outside of Canada. It means that if/when you do so, that you understand the steps, which are not much more complex than the consent you would get normally for going “on the Internet,” but typically you must name the specific tool, the date consent is effective and, if applicable, the date it expires. It is important that you work with your supervisor on the consent process. You can see an example of how school district are addressing access to cloud tools outside of Canada here and here (Victoria). You must also name each tool individually. It cannot be “blogging.” You must name WordPress.com or Blogger, etc. Consent must also be informed, so effort must be taken to ensure that those signing consent understand the implications. That their data may leave Canada, how it may be harvested, and to know about the U.S. Patriot Act. One archived resource by the Canadian Treasury Board provides significant detailed information about the Patriot Act here. It is helpful to also review section 4(b) of the B.C. Digital Literacy Framework for the K12 system.

Additional resources can be found here:

Privacy Education for Kids by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

Information Security Awareness by the BC Government

MediaSmarts: Canada’s Centre for Digital and Media Literacy

FIPPA, PIPA, Privacy, and Consent Competencies

Learners should ensure that they are:

  • Aware of the OIPC, FIPPA, PIPA and the Cloud Computing Guidelines and follows them according to the contexts the are in (for work, for school, etc.)
  • Understands what constitutes personal information
  • Understands that privacy online is a personal choice and must be respected
  • Understands that, if employed in a school, health unit, or other public body, that you assume a “public body” hat and have a responsibility for your patients, students, clients, and your colleagues with regard to their privacy and protection of personal information
  • Aware that the Canadian federal government states that the chances are remote that the US Patriot Act will access personal information of Canadians, but recognizes that it is our responsibility to protect privacy preferences and to ensure that consent obtained is informed consent. Some families may be involved with restraining orders and need to be private for their safety, but the reasons for privacy may be preference. Either way, it is not our business as to the reasons for privacy preferences, but it is our responsibility to uphold preferences.
  • Understand how media moves through networks into US cloud-based services (e.g., back-ups on iTunes, syncing with Dropbox, messages with personal information is sent on Gmail, blog RSS subscriptions, etc.)
  • Understand that these acts do not prohibit participation in networked tools outside of Canada and it is also important that we have individuals who model networked literacy and positive citizenship online for their learners
  • Be familiar with section 4(b) of the BC Digital Literacy Framework for K12 (as it is worded so well) and is prepared to follow this conduct
  • Understand what appropriate consent looks like for public bodies or private bodies, whichever is more relevant to your career goals, and is aware of what alternative steps are to support learners when consent is not obtained.