NEO and PIPEDA: how we protect your personal information

The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) sets out ten fair information principles that businesses must follow. There is no government certificate for PIPEDA: compliance means following the principles in practice. This is how NEO does that.

The principles, in practice

1. Accountability: the firm's principal, Mo. Farooqui, Licensed Paralegal, is responsible for how personal information is handled.
2. Identifying purposes: we collect information to provide legal services, verify identity as the Law Society requires, bill for our work and keep required records.
3. Consent: we ask before collecting, and we explain why. Marketing emails are only sent with consent, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
4. Limiting collection: we ask only for what the matter needs.
5. Limiting use, disclosure and retention: your information is used for your matter and kept for the periods the Law Society and tax rules require.
6. Accuracy: you can update your details in your client portal at any time.
7. Safeguards: encryption in transit and at rest, private file storage, and access limited to the people working on your file.
8. Openness: our Privacy Policy explains our practices in plain language.
9. Individual access: you can ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
10. Challenging compliance: you can raise a concern with us first, and you can also contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

Confidentiality goes further

As a licensed paralegal, NEO also owes you a professional duty of confidentiality under the Paralegal Rules of Conduct, which is stricter than privacy law in many ways.

Sources

• Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act
• Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

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Photos from Pexels: A screen showing digital security · A laptop showing a cybersecurity message.

This article is general information for people in Ontario, not legal advice. Rules, forms and deadlines change, and every situation is different. Check the current rule or speak to a licensed legal professional before you act.