News release: Privacy Commissioner of Canada’s annual report highlights actions taken to protect Canadians’ privacy in the age of AI

Privacy Commissioner of Canada’s annual report highlights actions taken to protect Canadians’ privacy in the age of AI

Privacy Commissioner of Canada Philippe Dufresne’s annual report tabled today in Parliament highlights efforts to promote children’s privacy and provide leadership in support of Canadians and Canadian organizations in a world of rapidly developing technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI).

The Commissioner’s 2025-2026 annual report, Championing privacy in the age of AI, describes key initiatives to address the impact of the fast-moving pace of technological advancements at a critical moment in time for privacy.

The report notes that privacy is being tested in new ways as digital technologies evolve. AI, connected services, online platforms, and immersive digital tools are creating new opportunities, but they also raise privacy considerations about how personal information is collected, used, shared, and protected.

The impact of these changing technologies on children’s privacy was also an important focus of the work carried out by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) during the year, as detailed in the report’s Spotlight section.

The OPC completed hundreds of investigations in the past fiscal year, including a joint investigation with provincial counterparts into TikTok. Because of the investigation, TikTok has implemented, and continues to implement, improvements to its privacy practices in the best interests of users, especially children.

The report also highlights the OPC’s efforts to adapt to the growing complexity of the digital environment, which included the creation and implementation of an internal AI product that enables the OPC to deepen its understanding of this technology, while also helping to optimize the work of the Office.

The OPC saw a significant increase in complaint volumes in 2025-2026, which made its efforts to streamline and improve services and timeliness of outcomes for Canadians even more critical.