Every time we send an email, post to a newsgroup, or chat on-line, we can expect to leave some sort identifiable footprint on the web. Sometimes we try to cover our tracks by using pseudonyms and email addresses that can’t immediately be traced back to our actual physical locations. Despite the caution that we might exercise, the ease at which personal information can be accessed on-line demonstrates that we are all vulnerable to invasions of privacy.

The primary area of my research focuses on the availability of personal information and how easily this information can be accessed by third parties. From this point, the focus separates into three subcategories. The first subcategory looks at information which a person can locate about themselves or someone else on the internet without much effort and without paying any fees. Considerations which would go into this research would be the sources of the information, how they came to be on found on the internet, and how they could be used to prejudice the individuals. The second area focuses on personal information about others which can be obtained from publicly accessible databases, either free or with a charge. The sources for these searches would be newspaper databases, legal databases, and government databases. The third subcategory examines what information, in addition to the above, about Canadians can be accessed by on-line private investigative services (located in the United States). Some of the information purported to be accessible by these services are criminal records, driving history, possible relatives and whereabouts, and telephone records.

It is the third subcategory which is of particular concern when considering the PIPEDA. After identifying the extent to which these private investigative companies are breaking the law in Canada, complaints to the Privacy Commissioner will be filed accordingly.