The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia breached the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act when it offered to help police agencies identify participants in the Vancouver riots following the city’s loss in the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup finals via their face recognition technology, according to a Canadian Underwriter article.
Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham determined that the change in use of the Insurance Corporation’s biometric database would have been in breach as the police had no warrant, subpoena or court order to assist police with their investigation.
As the Vancouver police did not end up taking the corporation up on their offer and opted instead to rely on their own form of facial recognition technology the data was never used illegally.
But the privacy commissioner says the offer alone constitutes a misuse of the data in a way that it was not originally intended.
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