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Information privacy marketing analytics requires offline and online marketing campaigns to protect consumers’ information privacy. And this requires that analytics be conducted in accordance with the Government of Canada’s information privacy law, the Privacy Act. Under Canada’s privacy law, a consumer must be aware of the marketing purpose for which his or her information be used. And an individual must provide marketing consent before an online marketing campaign may be conducted with this information. The concept of choice is also central to information privacy: online marketers must offer an individual a choice to consent to his or her personal information being collected. These three principles – purpose, consent and choice – apply regardless of the online marketing channel used (eg. Facebook, telephone, direct mail) or the Internet marketing campaign’s objective.

The popularity of social media sites and online marketing makes information privacy a cross-border policy issue that must be addressed through co-operation between governments. More details may be read in the following Tumbleweed blog post: Information Privacy Marketing Analytics: Data Storage and International Web Privacy Law. Below are some information privacy marketing analytics resources that may help online marketing professionals. Every digital marketing analytics professional must help ensure that data analyzed is used in accordance with information privacy laws. And this requires that Canadian marketing staff be aware of available information privacy marketing resources. An online marketing privacy toolkit may also be valuable to Canadian consumers who wish to know more about individual information privacy rights. Below are some online information privacy resources that may be helpful for both online marketers and consumers who are targeted by Internet marketing campaigns.

Government of Canada’s Privacy Act
This law governs information privacy protection in Canada and contains guidelines regarding an individual’s right to obtain personal data.

Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation.
The Governnment of Canada’s anti-spam law website contains resources for individuals and businesses regarding the appropriate use of e-mail and other electronic communication.

Protecting Your Online Privacy
This online information privacy fact sheet is provided by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, and it contains useful online privacy protection tips in a Q&A format.

Privacy By Design
Privacy By Design is an information privacy initiative of the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, and it focuses on ensuring that privacy safeguards are built-in to new and existing technologies. Below are two videos of Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner, Dr. Anne Cavoukian, as she speaks about online privacy at a Privacy By Design conference.

- Privacy By Design Conference: Part 1 Video
- Privacy By Design Conference: Part 2 Video

The ‘National Do Not Call List’
An individual has the right NOT to be the target of online marketing campaigns as well as telemarketing campaigns. Canadians may opt out of telemarketing campaigns by having their name placed on the Government of Canada’s ‘National Do Not Call List’.

Canadian Marketing Association (CMA) Do Not Call Service
A consumer may protect his or her information privacy by contacting the Canadian Marketing Association (CMA) to have his or her name removed from one of it’s member’s mailing lists. This may be achieved by completing an online form.

Dr. Micheal Geist – Information Privacy and Technology Blogger
Dr. Michael Geist is a law professor at the University of Ottawa, and he actively blogs and writes about information privacy and other marketing technology issues in the Toronto Star. Dr. Geist also offers a free service called iOptOut.ca which helps manage ‘Do Not Call’ (DNC) notification to exempt or commonly used organizations.

Consumer information privacy marketing issues have received national media attention, and the following two articles provide excellent background regarding privacy cases that involved Facebook and Bell Canada, respectively:

- September 22, 2010 National Post article Facebook has lived up to its privacy commitments, says federal watchdog.

- December 20, 2010 Globe and Mail story Bell fined $1.3-million for violating do not call rules.

Facebook and Bell Canada were required to adjust operations in order to improve the telephone and web privacy of Canadian consumers, respectively. These cases underline the importance of offline and online marketing professionals actively protecting information privacy.