CIPPIC Testifies on the Growing Problem of Identity Theft

CIPPIC testified today before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy & Ethics on the growing problem of identity theft. As CIPPIC highlighted in its testimony, identity theft is, in many ways, the crime of the digital age. It exploits the immense amounts of information about individuals that is available on digital networks in order to exploit them through an increasingly profitable range of fraudulent activities. The cost, time and trauma inherent in the identity recovery process make identity theft a serious social problem. CIPPIC's testimony highlighted the need for stronger privacy laws as a means of minimizing identity theft. PIPEDA, Canada's data protection law, is the primary mechanism for empowering individuals to better control their personal information. It also obligates organizations to properly safeguard their customers' personal information. However, PIPEDA lacks the most basic features of any effective regulatory regime -- enforceability and compliance incentives. These shortcomings must be addressed as part of any meaningful attempt to address the problems of identity theft. In addition, attention entities such as the Canadian Identity Theft Support Centre, which play a crucial role in the victim recovery process, need to be fostered and developed further. Overall, CIPPIC called for the development and adoption of a national strategy on identity theft that would adopt these and other measures in a comprehensive response to this growing problem.