The Privacy Impact Assessment Guidelines

1. The Privacy Impact Assessment Guidelines Guy Herriges Manager, Information and Privacy Office of the Corporate Chief Strategist, MBS November 2000

2. Why do a PIA? • New technologies are transforming how we do business • Promise of greater efficiency, integration, effectiveness, and responsiveness • But they are also raising new concerns about privacy • We need to address these concerns to ensure success • PIA provides a methodology for identifying and addressing privacy issues at every stage in a project

3. Managing Privacy Risk • Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) is the best tool at our disposal • Evidence-based decision-making instrument that considers both technical compliance with privacy requirements and public expectations • generates/communicates confidence that privacy objectives have been met, • takes variety of perspectives into account, • promotes fully informed policy decision-making and system design choices, • helps ministries to adequately anticipate public reaction to the privacy implications of a given proposal by considering all perspectives

4. Possible Indicators of the Need to do a PIA • Creation/modification of databases containing personal information; • Proposals involving identification or authentication schemes; • Program/service channel redesign or merger - single window; • The use of smart cards; • New delivery structures or partnerships, including devolution; • Technology changes; • Common infrastructure projects

5. MBS Requirements • A PIA is required where proposals may affect client privacy • Privacy is affected by any substantive change to the collection, use, or disclosure of personal information • Ministries/Cluster CIO determines whether a PIA is required

6. Perspectives on Privacy • A variety of perspectives inform debates around privacy • Legal perspective - compliance with privacy rules • Consumer perspective - privacy as a consumer protection issue and fairness in the marketplace, especially in e-commerce • Rights-based perspective - privacy as a right in itself and in relation to other rights (e.g. free association, autonomy) • Public policy issue - management of privacy risk, public expectations, and building public confidence and trust

7. Components of the PIA 1. Proposal analysis 2. Data flow analysis • Outline how and when information is collected, used, and disclosed 3. Compliance Analysis • Verify technical compliance with statutory requirements and broader conformity with general privacy principles 4. Risk Management Strategy • Identify privacy risks and propose solutions

8. Proposal Analysis • Under development • Description of Essential Aspects of a Proposal • Environmental/Issues Scan • Identification of Significant Privacy Issues

9. Data Flow Analysis • Business Process Diagrams identifying major components of a business process • Documented data flow • Identification of specific personal data elements or clusters of data and their collection, use and disclosure

10. Samples from Projects

11. Page 30 PIA Guide

12. Compliance Analysis • Key questions that interrogate a proposal’s compliance with privacy legislation and program statutes. • Identification of broader privacy issues that may raise public concerns. • Questions organized under privacy principles of CSA Model Privacy Code and Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act

13. Risk Analysis • Summary of conclusions from the privacy analysis • Legal compliance issues based on analysis of data flow • Identification of residual risk • Broader privacy risks/stakeholder reaction • Communications strategy

14. Resource and Skill Requirements • Depends on scope and stage of project • Range of skills that may be useful on PIA team include: • Policy Development • Operational Program and Business Design • Technology and Systems • Risk and Compliance Analysis • Procedural and Legal • Access to Information and Privacy

15. Conclusion • PIA is available from Information and Privacy Office, MBS • http://www.gov.on.ca./MBS/english/fip/