Privacy Policy

Scope
This privacy policy describes the information we collect via the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) web site and social media accounts, and how we collect and use that information. 

Personal Information
Personal information is recorded information about an identifiable individual. Personal information includes things such as an individual's name, address, birth date, email address and phone number.

Collection
The OIPC is responsible for monitoring, enforcing and informing the public about access and privacy laws in BC. The OIPC collects personal information for the purpose of operating its monitoring, enforcement and information programs, particularly for the purpose of assisting individuals, public bodies and organizations. The OIPC is authorized to collect personal information via this web site and social media under section 26(c) of FIPPA, for the purposes described above.

When you send us electronic mail, we collect your email address and your message so that we may reply to you. We recommend that sensitive personal information not be sent unencrypted over the Internet or by e-mail.

When you visit our website, the web server collects a small amount of information to facilitate its operation. For example, the website advanced search function collects information to remember the information you submitted for the search. IP addresses are collected to identify unauthorized attempts to change information or damage our systems. We do not capture or store personal information such as your name or home address while you visit and use our website.

The OIPC also utilizes Twitter, a public, third-party social media provider. Personal information that you might provide to Twitter is not hosted on our server. We recommend that our Twitter followers familiarize themselves with the social media provider’s terms of service and privacy policies.

Web Analytics
The OIPC uses Matomo, a third party service to analyze non-identifiable web traffic data with the purpose of improving the services we offer. The OIPC owns and stores the data that is generated on its secure web server. The collected data will not be shared with any other party for any other purpose.

The OIPC may collect the following information to assist us with improving the website:

• The pages accessed on our site and links you clicked on
• The date and time you visited the site
• If you use our advanced search tool, the search terms you used
• The referring site (if any) through which you arrived at this site
• Your operating system (e.g. Windows XP, Mac OS X)
• The type of web browser you use (e.g. Internet Explore, Mozilla Firefox)

IP addresses are anonymized so that they cannot be used to identify individuals. Our web analytics will also respect any "do not track" setting you might have set on your browser.

Our website may use session cookies which are stored in temporary memory and are not retained after you sign out or close the browser session.

Cookies
A cookie is a small file containing certain pieces of information that a website creates when you visit the site. It can track how and when you use a site, which site you visited immediately before, and it can store that information about you. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer. There are two types of cookies, session cookies and persistent cookies. Our website may use session cookies which are stored in temporary memory and are not retained after you sign out or close the browser session. 

Use
The OIPC only uses the personal information collected from the Web site for the same purpose that it was collected. The OIPC will not use your personal information for another purpose without your consent.

Sharing
The OIPC may only disclose your personal information if it is done for the same purpose that it was collected. The OIPC will not share your personal information for another purpose unless the OIPC has your consent to do so. In limited circumstances that are outlined in section 33 of FIPPA, the OIPC may be required, or authorized, by law to disclose your personal information to another party.

Links
Our website contains links to other sites. When clicking on a link, we encourage you to examine the site's privacy policy and make your own decision regarding the information provided.

How to contact us
If you have questions about this privacy policy, you can contact the Deputy Commissioner at 250-387-5629 or toll free via Enquiry BC at 1-800-663-7867. You can also email us at info@oipc.bc.ca or write to us at:

Office of the Information & Privacy Commissioner for BC
P.O. Box 9038, Stn. Prov. Govt.
Victoria, BC  V8W 9A4