Jan 27, 2012

When sharing personal information, less is more : Data Privacy Day raises awareness about online threats to privacy and highlights the importance of limiting personal information sharing

Manitoba Ombudsman is delivering this message on behalf of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada in support of Data Privacy Day, which is marked annually by organizations around the world on January 28.

We live in a digital age, where our online activities can easily be tracked, stored, shared and analyzed, and we are under constant pressure to share more personal information. But given the power and complexity of today’s technologies, we should all be thinking less is more when it comes to sharing personal information on the Internet.

Canadians are the world’s biggest Internet users, logging an average of 43.5 hours of online browsing per month, almost twice the global average, according to a recent global ComScore report on Internet use and online trends. However, many may not fully consider the implications this has for their privacy. Once their personal information is on the Internet, they have very little control over who sees it, how it is used, or how long it will be available. By sharing less personal information, we can help limit our exposure and the risks of our personal information being misused, abused or disclosed without consent.

So, whether we are social networking, using an app on a mobile device, or signing up for discounts and deals, we need to think carefully about the personal information we are putting into cyberspace.

“Less is more” is also good advice for businesses and organizations that collect personal information. Collecting and holding excess data raises the risks for customers, but it is also costly for business. It increases the risk of data breaches—which can be damaging to reputations and expensive to clean up.

This week, Manitoba Ombudsman joins governments, privacy professionals, corporations, academics and students from around the world, in marking Data Privacy Day, an annual international celebration designed to promote awareness about privacy and education about best privacy practices.