The Surveillance Studies Centre is a recipient of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner's 2010- 11 Contributions Program, which funds privacy research and public education initiatives. The SSC project is entitled The Private Sector, National Security and Personal Data and will examine the role of the private sector in Canadian national security programs at the border and in airports.
The study will focus on the increasing interchange of data between government and commercial organizations. Researchers will first conduct an inventory of private firms involved in border and airport security operations, then assess the privacy issues raised by mapping the quantity and types of personal information being collected and shared.
“The pace of technology has meant we must face new privacy challenges everyday – online, at the airport, on our streets and in our homes,” says Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart in her office's June 3 press release. “Research projects like these help all of us become better informed to meet those challenges.”
This year’s projects involve research initiatives that focus on the Office’s four key privacy priority areas: national security, identity integrity and protection, information technology, and genetic privacy.
For a full list of the successful recipients and their projects from 2010-11, visit: http://www.priv.gc.ca/resource/cp/2010-2011/cp_bg_e.cfm.
The Surveillance Studies Centre
c/o David Murakami Wood
Department of Criminology
University of Ottawa
Canada