Keeping Internet Users in the Know or in the Dark: An Analysis of the Data Privacy Transparency of Canadian Internet Carriers

Abstract

In the wake of Snowden's revelations about National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance, demands that Internet carriers be more forthcoming about their handling of personal information have intensified. Responding to this concern, this report evaluates the data privacy transparency of forty-three Internet carriers serving the Canadian public. Carriers are awarded up to ten stars based on the public availability of information satisfying ten transparency criteria. Carriers earn few stars overall, just 92.5 out of 430, an average of two of ten possible stars. A variety of policy recommendations are provided to encourage and guide further data privacy transparency efforts in Canada as well as around the world.