Mar. 27, 2024 - Substantial amendments to the Investment Canada Act (ICA) were enacted on March 22, 2024, with the passing of Bill C-34, the National Security Review of Investments Modernization Act. These amendments, long in the works, will come into effect on a date to be fixed by Cabinet. It...
Anita Banicevic Comments in The Globe and Mail on Facebook’s $9-Million Settlement with Competition Bureau
In an article (available to subscribers) published today in The Globe and Mail, Davies partner Anita Banicevic was featured for her insights on Facebook’s $9-million settlement agreement with the Canadian Competition Bureau over misleading privacy claims the company made between 2012 and 2018.
Although the Canadian penalty is much smaller than Facebook’s historic US$5-billion settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, Anita pointed out that the maximum penalty for false or misleading claims under the Competition Act is $10 million, making the penalty significant in Canadian terms. She added that if Facebook violates the settlement agreement, it could face criminal law charges rather than a civil lawsuit.
“It certainly does signal that the bureau is going to be quite active in anything to do with the digital economy. I think advertising and privacy going forward are going to be hot topics for enforcement,” she added. This is consistent, she said, with the bureau hiring its first chief digital enforcement officer last summer.
The settlement with the Competition Bureau is separate from continuing litigation between Facebook and the OPC (Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada).
“What really strikes me is that the bureau makes no mention of co-operating or jointly investigating with the OPC,” Anita said, noting that it raises questions about the overlap in mandate between the OPC and the Competition Bureau “in the privacy space in particular.”
Related
Mar. 13, 2024 - The Canadian government recently issued two policy statements (IDM Statements) affirming that it will enhance its scrutiny under the Investment Canada Act (ICA) of foreign investments in the Canadian Interactive Digital Media (IDM) sector. One of the statements sets out the...