To sum up, MRIA prides itself on being a leader by adopting some of the strictest codes of conduct and standards globally when it comes to the protection of personal information. This is a key pillar in maintaining our industry's bread-and-butter, sine qua non relationship with Canadians, a relationship rooted in trust and goodwill and articulated in our “Charter of Respondent Rights”, our industry's covenant with Canadians.
In the digital world, legitimate survey researchers take great pains to respect the rules of the social media sites we monitor, respect the wishes of those who post personal information online, anonymize the personal information in the data we collect, and never attempt to sell anything or solicit in any form.
The experience of social media research practitioners tells us that from the perspective of social media users, most Canadians who publish information online are quite informed about what they are doing. They have a good understanding of the impact of their actions and they know what steps to take to protect their personal information. It is our belief that high standards-based ethical business practices, combined with the informed, deliberate actions of Canadians when they post information online, constitute the right balance and the golden mean that ought to be maintained.
It's the right balance because it protects the privacy rights of Canadians in the digital world while also ensuring that social media researchers can facilitate their ability to have a voice and ensure that their views have influence in public policy and corporate decisions that will affect their lives.
Legislators have long recognized the survey research industry's ethical practices, and we firmly believe that we continue to maintain and adhere to the highest standards for privacy and the protection of personal information in the digital social media world.
For the committee's reference, we will be submitting as part of our written brief a copy of the industry's global guidelines for ethical social media research, which our association is in the process of codifying and which we suggest could serve as a best practices reference document for this committee's future review of PIPEDA.
Finally, let me close by saying that MRIA very much appreciates this opportunity to present the views of the marketing and survey research industry to the House of Commons standing committee on this important study, and we look forward to learning of its outcomes.
Thank you.