PEO is proceeding apace with its internal privacy policy to bring the regulator in line with government and public expectations for the collection, use and treatment of personal information. Driving; the issue is the federal government's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), which came into force for all commercial organizations in January 2004. The legislation was drafted primarily in response to incidents of careless institutional use of personal information, particularly in the health and financial services sectors. The widespread use of Internet-based data collection and information exchange has also led to increased concern about the safeguarding of personal information. The legislation spells out how commercial organizations in the private sector are to treat personal information used in day-to-day'business" operations. PIPEDA does not apply to commercial activities in provinces that have enacted their own legislation covering personal information. It does hold sway, however, for interprovincial activities, or where no equally rigorous provincial legislation is in force.
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