February 3 2012 - The naming and shaming of who?
The Privacy Commissioner's power to publicly name organizations found to be in contravention of PIPEDA has been the subject of debate since the law first came into force. Privacy advocates have long pushed the Commissioner to make greater use of this power, while some stakeholders have argued that the power should be exercised sparingly.
Now that the Commissioner is naming companies on a more frequent basis, the opportunity arises to begin considering whether this power is even effective. Murray Long explores this issue in an article about a 2011 finding in which the Commissioner decided to name Laurier Optical.