Personal Information Protection Act - Office of the Information and ...

A G u i d e f o r B u s i n e s s e s a n d O r g a n i z a t i o n s o n t h e P e r s o n a l I n f o r m a t i o n P r o t e c t i o n A c t
Getting consent by deception
An organization cannot get consent by a false or misleading means or by misleading the individual
about why it is collecting, using or disclosing the information. If this happens, the consent is
not legal (section 10). An example of an organization gaining illegal consent follows:
Example
An individual receives a survey in the mail asking for his opinions on current events. It includes an optional section
for the individual’s name and address, and a series of questions about household purchases over the last three
months. The survey form indicates that the organization will send discount coupons tailored to each survey respondent
as a thank-you for completing the survey. The company then sells the information to marketers. The company did
not have consent to sell the individual’s name and address for marketing purposes.
tips
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Obtain consent in writing or orally, in person, by phone, by mail, through a website, etc.
Make consent clauses easy to find, easy to understand, and as specific as possible about uses and disclosures.
Choose the type of consent used by considering the reasonable expectations of the individual, the circumstances
surrounding the collection, and the sensitivity of the information.
Use express consent whenever possible and in all cases when the personal information is sensitive.
For an individual who is a minor, seriously ill, or mentally incapacitated, obtain consent from a legal guardian
or person having a power of attorney or trusteeship order.
For further information, see PIPA Advisory 1 - Consent, available at www.oipc.ab.ca.
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Service Alberta and the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner