Alberta's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA)

Last Updated on نوفمبر 8, 2023

Schedule Your
Personal Demo

Learn how you can leverage Securiti’s Data Command Center to address data security, privacy, governance, and compliance.

See a demo
Schedule your demo today

Alberta's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA), introduced in the Alberta Legislature in May 2003 as Bill 44, is a private sector privacy law that applies to private sector organizations, including corporations, unincorporated associations, trade unions, partnerships, and individuals and non-profit organizations (in connection with their commercial activities). It came into effect on January 1, 2004.

Since then, Alberta’s PIPA has been amended to ensure that the law continues addressing emerging digital data privacy challenges.

The primary purpose of the law is to govern the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information by organizations for ‘reasonable’ purposes while ensuring the rights of individuals to have their personal information protected. PIPA emphasizes the term “reasonable” to encourage organizations to undertake measures appropriate in terms of scale and circumstances.


The Solution

Thanks to its plethora of data security, privacy, compliance, and governance-related products such as AI-driven data discovery, DSR automation, universal consent management, autonomous documented accountability, data breach management, and vendor risk assessment, Securiti empowers organizations to comply with their legal obligations under Alberta's PIPA seamlessly.

The solutions mentioned above are backed up by state-of-the-art artificial intelligence and machine-learning-based algorithms, making Securiti a market leader in providing data compliance and governance solutions.

Alberta pipa compliance solution

Request a demo today to learn how Securiti can aid your and your organization's effective and timely compliance with Alberta’s PIPA.


Assess Personal Information Protection Act Readiness

PIPA Sections: 5(1), 5(3), 6(1)

Automate regular internal assessments of all data processing-related activities, processes, and mechanisms to ensure their continued effectiveness and compliance with Alberta’s PIPA requirements. Make any appropriate adjustments accordingly while addressing all identified blindspots and gaps.

 

Assess alberta pipa readiness
alberta pipa dsr workbench

Automate Consumer Data Request Handling

PIPA Sections: 24, 25, 26, 28

Automate the process of fulfilling consumer data subject requests via the central dashboard. The use of Securiti’s DSR workbench will significantly reduce the risk of compliance violations and reduce the workforce required to comply with all the requests.

Monitor & Track Consent

PIPA Section: 7, 8, 9

Ensure compliance with the PIPA's consent-related requirements and obligations by having complete insights into all users' consent status via the central dashboard. This allows for any potential processing or transfer of data to occur only in accordance with the consent requirements of the PIPA.

 

Alberta cookie consent tracking
Alberta breach response notification

Automate Data Breach Response Notifications

PIPA Sections: 34.1, 37.1
PIPA Regulation Sections 19, 19.1

Automate the data breach response notifications to all relevant stakeholders in the timeframe mandated by the PIPA via leveraging a knowledge database on security incident diagnosis and response.

Manage Vendor Risk

PIPA Section: 5(2)

Gain visibility into all third-party vendors' data processing activities relevant to the shared data to have real-time updates related to their continued compliance with any applicable legal requirements. Moreover, collaborate instantly with vendors with respect to data subjects’ requests for the correction of data, and manage all vendor contracts and compliance documents.

Alberta vendor risk management
Alberta Cookie Compliance

Meet Cookie Compliance

PIPA Sections: 7, 8, 9

Automate your cookie consent management processes to ensure all cookies used across your data infrastructure comply with the applicable legal requirements. Also, build customizable cookie banners, collect consent, and provide a preference center.

Privacy Policy & Notice Management

PIPA Sections: 6, 8(3)(a)(i), 13, 13.1, 15(1)(c), 18(1)(c), 21(1)(c)

Automate the generation and publication of a privacy policy, with the help of pre-built templates, that appropriately informs the users about your data processing practices in line with the applicable legal requirements.

Alberta Privacy Policy Management
Alberta personal data monitoring tracking

Continuous Monitoring & Tracking

PIPA Sections: 5(1), 5(2)

Keep track of risks against non-compliance to data subjects’ rights by continuously monitoring and scanning data.

 


Key Rights Under Alberta's Personal Information Protection Act

Here are the data subject rights for individuals per Alberta's PIPA. All requests exercising these rights must be made in writing and include sufficient details to enable the organizations to identify the record which contains the personal information for which the request is made.

Right to Request Correction

An individual has the right to request an organization to correct an error or omission in the personal information about the individual. Once such a request is received, the organization must correct the information as soon as reasonably possible while also, where reasonable, sending a notification containing the corrected information to any third parties with whom the incorrect information was shared.


Right to Access Data

An individual has the right to request an organization to provide the individual with access to personal information about them or information related to the use or disclosure of their personal information.


Facts to Know About Alberta's Personal Information Protection Act

Here are some key facts to know about Alberta's PIPA:

1

The Information and Privacy Commissioner (The Commissioner), appointed under the Alberta Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, is the primary authority responsible for monitoring the administration of the PIPA to ensure that its purposes are achieved;

2

Organizations may only collect, use, and disclose personal information for reasonable purposes;

3

Organizations must respond to any data subject requests within 45-days of receiving the request, provided the response time for a request to access, or a request for information, may be extended in accordance with the provisions of the PIPA;

4

Within a reasonable time after an organization no longer reasonably requires personal information, the organization must destroy all records containing such information or render the information non-identifiable, ensuring the relevant individuals cannot be identified;

5

The Commissioner may authorize an organization to disregard a data subject request made if it would require unreasonable efforts on the part of the organization, amount to an abuse of the right to make such requests, or is deemed "frivolous or vexatious";

6

Any prosecution for offenses under PIPA may be commenced within two years after the offense was allegedly committed, but not afterward;

7

If found in breach of the PIPA, an individual may face a fine of up to CAD 10,000, while an organization may face a fine of up to CAD 100,000.

IDC MarketScape

Securiti named a Leader in the IDC MarketScape for Data Privacy Compliance Software

Read the Report

What's
New