A Quebec company contracted by Ottawa to conduct mandatory COVID testing at Montreal-Trudeau Airport has secretly used travelers’ emails to fuel a marketing campaign amid a health crisis.
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“Individuals who are required to undergo COVID-19 testing at borders do not expect that the personal information they provide to the organizations conducting those tests will then be used for marketing purposes,” Canada’s Office of the Data Protection Commissioner said (OPC). yesterday.
- Hear Olivier Bourque, business journalist at the mic Yasmine Abdefadel on QUB Radio:
The watchdog got the flea in his ear after a complaint from a traveler who was shocked to receive advertising from Biron Groupe Santé (Biron) via email a few days after receiving the result of his test for COVID-19.
“The Office of the Commissioner is of the opinion that Biron could not reasonably have assumed that she had the tacit consent of travelers arriving in Canada,” the Commissioner’s Office said.
No other choice
According to the OPC, Biron was the only company offering this type of service at the airport and travelers therefore had no choice but to do so with the company to comply with the law.
“In this context, these travelers did not expect their personal data to be used for purposes other than the mandatory screening test,” we insist.
The case is now considered “closed”. Biron swears he’s deleted the emails of 147,000 travelers who weren’t already his customers.
“Given that Biron has ceased the problematic practice and taken corrective action, and the complainant is satisfied with the actions taken by Biron in response to his complaint, the latter is deemed resolved during the investigation,” the Commissioner’s Office of the Protection concludes of private life.
“Biron was wrong”
For Michel Séguin, professor and ethics expert at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM), companies like Biron have a duty to respect data owners.
“The company cannot use the information obtained for any purpose other than that intended,” he summarized.
“Biron was wrong. It should not have used them and should have destroyed the information within a reasonable time. She failed in her duty,” he added.
No comment…
On Thursday, Biron declined the Journal’s interview request.
Its director of communications and public relations, Annie Gauthier, preferred to respond to the journal with a brief written statement.
“I would like to tell you that there is nothing more to add to the announcement made by the Commissioner’s Office,” she said, emailing her response.
-With Sylvain Larocque
▶Canada’s Office of the Data Protection Commissioner wants the federal government and parliament to change the law so they can fine companies that fail to comply.
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