OPC age assurance and privacy consultation
November 14, 2024RCC responded to the OPC’s early summer 2024 consultation on preliminary considerations for age assurance guidance, which is also relevant to Bill C-27 since the bill’s proposed new federal privacy law (Consumer Privacy Protection Act, CPPA) codifies obligations for minors. Preventing online harm to children is an important policy area in which the most acute risks – criminal activity, explicit content exposure, toxic social media influences – seem to lie in sectors outside retail. However, OPC guidance on age assurance and privacy would still impact retailers. RCC recommended a proportionate, reasonable approach that focuses any age assurance requirements on situations that pose high risk to children and prioritizes harmonization and interoperability.
