In an earlier post we discussed the Schindler Elevator Decision in which the Privacy Commissioner of British Columbia found that GPS monitoring of the company's vehicles amounted to the collection of personal information about the company's employees. That decision was rendered under the private sector legislation, the Personal Information Protection Act. A companion decision Order F13-04 was issued under the equivalent public sector legislation the Freedom of Information and Protection of Personal Information Act. In that decision the Commissioner found that information collected by the university of British Columbia from a GPS system installed in security patrol vehicles is personal information of the employees who are assigned and use those vehicles. The information can be collected, but, as with earlier decisions, the employer must give proper notice of collection to the employees.
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