Media Advisory

Top researchers gather for Internet Privacy Symposium

Ottawa, February 22, 2007 — Leading experts on Internet privacy issues are meeting in Ottawa to discuss new threats to online privacy, emerging trends and ways to better protect personal information in the future.

The Internet Privacy Symposium, being held Feb. 23, 2007, is jointly hosted by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and the University of Ottawa’s Law and Technology Group.

The Internet has changed the privacy landscape around the world.  The ever-growing amount of personal information circulating online is raising serious concerns for privacy advocates. For example, recent data breaches by hackers highlight new online security challenges, while the explosion of social networking sites has prompted questions about young people’s knowledge of privacy issues.

The symposium’s keynote speaker is Marc Rotenberg, who is internationally recognized for his work as executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC).  Mr. Rotenberg is at the forefront of human rights and privacy debates and is well-known for his group’s annual international survey of privacy issues.

The Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Jennifer Stoddart, will open the conference.  Other speakers include Philippa Lawson, executive director of the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic, Valerie Steeves, a University of Ottawa assistant professor and expert on children and Internet privacy, and Mike Gurski of the Privacy Centre of Excellence, Bell Information and Communications Technology Solutions Inc.

Topics to be discussed include:  Patient privacy and electronic health records; helping children understand Internet privacy issues; Internet privacy and the workplace; and, privacy issues and identity theft.

The focus of the symposium is on research funded by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada through its Contributions Program.  The program, created in 2004, supports Canadian research into emerging privacy issues.

The symposium begins at 9 a.m., Friday, February 23, 2007, at the University of Ottawa’s School of Information Technology and Engineering (SITE), 800 King Edward Ave., Room H0104. 

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For more information, please contact:

Valerie Akujobi
Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
Tel: (613) 992-3745
E-mail: vakujobi@privcom.gc.ca