BUSINESS
Alayna Kolodziechuk is a corporate and privacy lawyer at entertainment law fi rm Taylor Oballa Murray Leyland LLP. On
behalf of the Canadian Bar Association, Alayna has participated in submissions to government on privacy at the border, the
new Digital Charter, the Anti-Terrorism Act, and the Canada Elections Act. www.tomllawyers.com.
By Alayna Kolodziechuk
Privacy Law for Artists
Part 1 : You Probably Do Have Something to Hide…
W
hen privacy rights come up, responses often range
from “I don’t have anything to hide” to “I just don’t
really care.”
In fact, most of us do have something to hide,
and, if you use modern technology, you should care. The sheer
amount of data that our devices can hold about us is alarming,
yet laws and public understanding of privacy implications are
constantly playing catch-up with emerging technologies.
There are apps for everything from determining our genetic
makeup to tracking pregnancy to monitoring our driving habits.
Most of the time, smart devices make us feel like life is made easi-
er through use of the cloud, facial and voice recognition software,
location data, or metadata. As smart technology is increasingly
embedded into our lives, privacy protections become all the
more important. Luckily, public awareness is growing – and with
it, added pressures on government and organizations.
What Is Privacy?
Think of privacy as the right to be left alone. Privacy is a universal
human right and many countries now have their own laws that
address data protection. Privacy laws deal with, among other things,
a person’s right to see and correct information that an organization
has about them, to be notifi ed if there is a security breach involving
their data, and to be told what an organization uses our data for and
who it is disclosed to.
Why Privacy Is So Important
The biggest privacy issues come from governments that want to
keep an eye on us, and businesses that want to sell our information.
Europe is a leader in privacy law. Having experienced abuses of in-
formation in Nazi Germany and across the Eastern Bloc, Europeans
value data protection laws more than most.
9/11 dramatically changed the privacy landscape. Sweeping
powers were brought in for the U.S. government in the name of
national security, despite the impact on rights and freedoms. For-
mer CIA employee and whistleblower Edward Snowden leaked
thousands of documents that revealed just how prevalent mass
surveillance had become in the post-9/11 era.
62 CANADIAN MUSICIAN
After Snowden’s leaks, an individual in Europe lodged a
complaint about Facebook Ireland (the company’s European
headquarters) having transferred his information to Facebook
USA. Given the potential access to that data by the U.S. authori-
ties, the complaint alleged that the transfer from Ireland did not
off er suffi cient protections to users. In a landmark decision, the
mechanisms that allowed for transfers of data from Europe to the
U.S. were declared invalid. This led to the overhaul of European
data privacy laws and the reason many of us received a fl urry of
emails asking us to confi rm our consent. Since then, Facebook
has been kept in the hot seat with the 2018 Cambridge Analyt-
ica scandal where it was shown that millions of users’ data was
harvested and sold, including to political campaigns. Facebook
and other tech giants make hundreds of billions of dollars selling
our information.
You might be wondering how all this aff ects you. There could
be harassment, loss of insurance benefi ts, lost job opportuni-
ties, and blackmail when information makes it into the wrong
hands. Activities that are legal in Canada such as recreational use
of cannabis and the right to same-sex relationships can create
serious issues when Canadians travel to other countries. There’s
also the fact that we have the right to a private life and that is
ours to exercise.
What’s Next?
Businesses large and small are subject to privacy laws when they
collect personal information (name, email, opinions and views,
etc.). You might be surprised to know this includes solo and group
recording and performance artists.
In part two of this article next issue, we’ll discuss exactly what
musicians need to know about their privacy obligations to fans
and others they work with.
The information in this article is not legal advice. Address your specific
circumstances with a lawyer. You can only rely on advice that comes
from your own lawyer.