Information & Ethics Committee on Oct. 30th, 2012

[Colin McKay]

Yes.

[John Carmichael, Conservative, Don Valley West, ON]

You basically take the package and look for feedback on where she may have some concerns, etc.

Do you believe that in Canada there is a need for stronger enforcement powers to cause companies to respect the privacy legislation in this country? Having your background in privacy, you're probably pretty well qualified to give us an honest opinion on that.

[Colin McKay]

Thank you for your question.

In my experience, we've seen companies react quickly and strongly to the Privacy Commissioner's rulings. In my personal experience, I've had some very constructive conversations with both the federal commissioner and the provincial commissioners about the products and services we're about to introduce or have introduced. There's a very effective dialogue that happens that encourages us to be innovative in the products and services we provide to Canadians while reinforcing that there is legislation in place that we must meet. We see that sort of dialogue as a very constructive way to continue to offer exciting and innovative products to Canadians.

A move to a system that is more enforcement-based would prompt some caution on the part of companies. In a system that was more heavily focused on enforcement, we would have to consider the possible repercussions of having that open a discussion of how our products roll out and how the Privacy Commissioner interprets our actions.

[John Carmichael, Conservative, Don Valley West, ON]

Thank you.

For Google Takeout, it's my understanding that if I decide I want to leave, I take advantage of Google Takeout and I take everything with me.

[Colin McKay]

Yes.

[John Carmichael, Conservative, Don Valley West, ON]

All my information, anything I have deposited within the Google framework, I pull out and I go away completely.

[Colin McKay]

Yes.

[John Carmichael, Conservative, Don Valley West, ON]

Okay.

The question I have was more related to Canadians on Google. Do they have a privacy risk? Is there any risk at all, for a Canadian using Google, of having that privacy breached today?

[Colin McKay]

My response to you would be that we provide the most secure systems and services available to Canadians. We spend every day all day making sure that we not only identify but avoid the sorts of traps that lead to the inappropriate or illegal disclosure of information, whether it's personal or not.

[John Carmichael, Conservative, Don Valley West, ON]

I hear you on that. There's a little motherhood and apple pie there, and I appreciate that.

When we started this study, one of the concerns we had was the privacy of the average Canadian. We know that in some arenas, there are all kinds of private information. My colleague on the other side referred to seeing a discussion that he didn't feel, maybe, he should be a part of, the way the conversations opened up within the architecture.

The concern we've had with respect to privacy in Canada is that we have to be absolutely certain that we're doing our job to ensure Canadians' peace of mind. We know that people give their information freely. There has to be a better education process, I think. At the end of the day, I'm very concerned that we have a privacy problem.

How much time is left, Mr. Chair? Do I have lots?

[The Chair, NDP, Pierre-Luc Dusseault]

You have three minutes left.

[John Carmichael, Conservative, Don Valley West, ON]

Thank you.

What would you advise Canadians, as Internet users, do to protect themselves in a more stringent way when using the Internet? I'm thinking about all the different platforms out there and your background in privacy. How do we advise? What would you advise us to say to Canadians when we put our final report together? How do they protect themselves? How do we protect them? What do they need to do when they're on the Internet to ensure that their privacy is secure?

[Colin McKay]

Thank you for your question. I think you brought up a valuable point in mentioning the other member's conversation online, in that we're looking at a combination of measures in order to ensure continuing privacy online.

In addition to using secure services and ensuring that you're making the right decisions when using those tools, we also need to take the steps to make sure, as we evolve into a society that communicates online, that not only young people, but every generation has access to educational tools that allow them to work through how they should be sharing on social media sites, how they should be using online services, and the context within which they want to share information or make information public or restricted.

From our point of view at Google, we've undertaken things like an advertising campaign called Good to Know, which tries to walk users through the various examples of how their information is stored and shared online. We also partner with child safety and public education organizations like MediaSmarts right here in Ottawa and the Canadian Centre for Child Protection in Winnipeg to work on public education campaigns that go in to the classroom and give students that one-on-one advice on how to make the transition as a young adult into the online world. Then we more explicitly create things like the curriculum for teachers, and the citizens' curriculum around YouTube that helps individuals and students think about how YouTube fits in with the context of their being active and vibrant citizens.

To me there's a multi-phase process and a multi-step process that needs to take place. You're right; a lot of it is public education, and quite a bit of it is also providing the appropriate tools to users so that they have the choice of control.

[John Carmichael, Conservative, Don Valley West, ON]

Just in closing—I think I'm probably down to the wire here—if I summed up, and correct me if I'm wrong, on Google my privacy is absolutely secure.

[Colin McKay]

Yes.

[John Carmichael, Conservative, Don Valley West, ON]

It cannot be hacked.

[Colin McKay]

Yes: it cannot be hacked.

[John Carmichael, Conservative, Don Valley West, ON]

So a privacy breach is a non-issue with Google.

Two, on Google Takeout I can pack my bag and leave with all my laundry at any time.

[Colin McKay]

Yes.

[John Carmichael, Conservative, Don Valley West, ON]

Terrific.

Thank you.

[The Chair, NDP, Pierre-Luc Dusseault]

Thank you, Mr. Carmichael.

It is now Ms. Borg's turn for five minutes.

[Charmaine Borg, NDP, Terrebonne—Blainville, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I want to thank you, Mr. McKay, for joining us today.

Given your position as an industry leader in the digital market, your remarks are especially pertinent. I would say that everyone in this room is aware of all the technological innovation and new potential you are responsible for.

The purpose of our study is to ensure that users can access those tools with the assurance that their personal information is being protected. Given that yours is an international company, the question as to which policy you will adopt often comes up. Of course, we have laws and regulations here in Canada, but so do other countries.

My question is when you develop these policies, are they country-specific, or do you follow a model, for instance a European model.

[Colin McKay]

We have a company-specific model. Let me just ask if you're asking about specific requests for user information, or if you're talking about privacy law.

[Charmaine Borg, NDP, Terrebonne—Blainville, QC]

I am speaking about policies on personal information.

[Colin McKay]

We have a company-wide policy that strives to meet all the obligations across all the countries.