Federal Court of Appeal rules on telecom privacy case

In a decision dated Nov.17, 2004, the Federal Court of Appeal ruled that Telus Communications Inc. violated its subscribers' right to privacy under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act ("PIPEDA") by failing to obtain consent prior to the publishing of subscriber data in the telephone book, as well as to making it available via online and other databases. In Mathew Englander v. Telus Communications Inc., the Court also ruled that the CRTC decision to permit Telus and other phone companies to charge $2 per month for unlisted service was reviewable by way of application under PIPEDA, but did not violate any statutory privacy protections.