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Canada: Federal Court rules that search engines fall within scope of Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)

Policy overview

Description

Federal Court rules that search engines fall within scope of Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)

On 8 July 2021, in decision 2021 FC 723, the Federal Court of Canada ruled on a case brought at the request of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC). The Court held that the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents A…

Scope

Policy Area
Data governance
Policy Instrument
Data protection regulation
Regulated Economic Activity
search service provider
Implementation Level
national
Government Branch
judiciary
Government Body
court

Complete timeline of this policy change

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2017-06-01
under deliberation

In June 2017, a complaint was made to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) agains…

2018-10-10
under deliberation

As part of the inquiry on Google's alleged violation of the Personal Information Protection and Ele…

2021-07-08
under investigation

On 8 July 2021, in decision 2021 FC 723, the Federal Court of Canada ruled on a case brought at the…

2023-09-29
in force

On 29 September 2023, the Federal Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal of Google in case 2023 FCA 2…

2025-08-27
in force

On 27 August 2025, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) found that Google violated the Pers…