2006 Trends in Transparency

"I hope that this report will help raise awareness among organizations about the importance of having sound privacy policies and practices in place to protect their customers' personal information"

Jennifer Stoddart, Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

“This study shows that privacy laws governing the private sector in Canada have been working since they were introduced in 2004 to protect the personal privacy of Canadians. Privacy is a priority for corporate Canada.”

John Gustavson, President and CEO Canadian Marketing Association

This study finds that corporate Canada has made considerable strides in being open to consumers about how their personal information is being handled, a requirement of privacy laws in Canada.

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In the past companies relied on simple, short, motherhood statements placed on corporate Web sites that they called privacy policies, notes the study. But that has changed. Now, privacy policies available online -- the key indicator of openness:

provide specific details about an organization’s privacy practices (on average privacy policies available online are 6½ pages in length);
are structured to maximize readability;
provide a host of advanced provisions to assist consumers in making informed decisions.

In other findings:

more than four-fifths (83%) of all organizations have dedicated privacy policies for Canadians, leaving only 17% of the organizations providing generic international policies;
82% of organizations' privacy policies addressed all corporate operations leaving only 18% of policies restricted to website operations;
over 90% of all organizations address transferring information to 3rd parties;
the Retail sector is most likely to address the selling and renting of personal information;
the Insurance sector is least likely to share personal information with affiliates or business partners;
over 60% of the Telecommunications sector addresses the collection of information from minors;
21% of the Consumer Service sector provides privacy seals;
over 60% of the Banking sector has multi-layered privacy notices;
87% of the Banking sector provides toll-free numbers for opting out;
47% of the Consumer Service Sector addresses cross-border transfers of personal information.

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The 2006 Nymity Trends in Transparency Report analyzed 23 openness criteria, from over 200 companies from eight industries. The report identifies trends and best-practices related to privacy policies placed on corporate Web sites and answers the following questions:

Will transparency help eliminate complaints?
Does transparency help build trust?
Is transparency the key to informed consent?
Does transparency demonstrate compliance with privacy laws in Canada?
What risks can be addressed through privacy policies?

This 104 page report provides relevant examples, advanced provisions, analysis of policy structures, plus much, much more. It is ideal for privacy officers and lawyers with privacy practices. This report provides the necessary information for an organization to decide if its corporate privacy policy should be updated.

2006 Trends in Transparency Report was released in conjunction with the Canadian Marketing Association to raise industry awareness about the importance of privacy policy transparency, and to highlight best practices adopted by many leading organizations serving the Canadian marketplace.