Canada's House of Commons recently passed The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (also known as Bill C-6) in a 200-49 vote. The bill will require Canadian businesses and organizations to get permission before collecting or disclosing their customers' personal information.
The Senate will probably pass C-6, but supporters are worried that the real teeth of the bill will be pulled in an attempt to keep the insurance and health care industries happy.
"Generally, the people in the Senate are lawyers and business people with very strong corporate connections," Phillippa Lawson, counsel to the Ottawa-based Public Interest Advocacy Centre said. "My fear is that they are hearing from the corporations and not from the public,"
The Senate will begin hearings for C-6 in late November. If Canada adopts the legislation, the United States will remain the only industrial nation lacking similar online protection.