The province’s privacy watchdog says there are risks to Metrolinx’s plan to sell riders’ personal information to private companies, but the transit agency has agreed to consult with his office before considering proposals to share the data. In a letter dated Tuesday and addressed to Ontario NDP deputy leader Sara Singh, information and privacy commissioner Brian Beamish said until the opposition complained about it, he had not been aware of Metrolinx’s plan, unveiled last week, to sell riders’ information. Beamish said he “would be very concerned” if the agency, which is a provincial Crown corporation in charge of transportation for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, “were to share information about its customers” without first conducting “a complete review to ensure that the privacy of individuals is protected.” He wrote that he had spoken with Metrolinx representatives and while they assured him the agency wouldn’t share any data that would reveal riders’ identities, “privacy risks may still exist.” As an example, Beamish cited the possibility of data not being “properly de-identified before release.” In a written statement issued Wednesday, the commissioner said he was “pleased to confirm that Metrolinx’s chief privacy officer and chief marketing officer have committed to consulting with our office” on their plan, which is backed by Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government. “In this way, the IPC can ensure that any information released by Metrolinx is properly de-identified and that rider privacy is protected. This should help assure Ms. Singh, as well as other Ontarians, that steps are being taken to address the privacy risks of disclosures of this nature,” he said. In an interview Wednesday, Singh (Brampton Centre) called Metrolinx’s assurances to the commissioner “a good first step.” ...
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