Federal privacy watchdog heads to court over Pornhub operator's consent practices
Privacy Commissioner Philippe Dufresne is seeking a Federal Court order directing the operator of the Pornhub website to comply with Canadian privacy law.
Dufresne's application comes a year after he concluded Aylo, the Montreal-based firm behind Pornhub and other pornographic sites, broke the law by allowing intimate images to be shared without direct knowledge or consent.
The commissioner's investigation of Aylo, formerly known as MindGeek, followed a complaint from a woman whose ex-boyfriend had uploaded an intimate video and other images of her to Aylo websites without her permission.
Dufresne concluded that inadequate privacy protection measures on Pornhub and other Aylo sites had led to devastating consequences for the complainant and other victims.
He made several recommendations to bring Aylo into compliance with the federal private-sector privacy law, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act.
At the time, the commissioner said the company "expressly disagreed with our conclusions" and had not committed to implementing any of the recommendations.
In a news release Monday, the commissioner's office said Aylo changed some of its privacy practices and consent verification mechanisms during and after the investigation.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Ottawa Citizen
an hour ago
- Ottawa Citizen
Tracy Duncan's slaying is Ottawa's fourth femicide this year
Police have identified four Ottawa deaths as 'femicides' this year, exceeding the total of three femicides reported in all of 2024. Article content The Ottawa Police Service became the first Canadian police force to use 'femicide' in its public statements in 2022, even before adopting a formal definition. Article content Article content A femicide is generally defined as 'the killing of women and girls because of their gender,' often driven by gender roles, discrimination towards women and girls or unequal power relations between women and men. Article content Article content The four Ottawa deaths declared femicides so far this year: Article content • Tracy Duncan ,54, was found dead at her residence on Carousel Crescent in Gloucester at about 11:30 a.m. on Monday. Stephen Doane, 57, was arrested by police and was charged with second-degree murder. Article content • Renée Descary, 51, was stabbed to death on Heney Street in Lowertown on April 1. Oliver Denai, 24, was charged with second-degree murder. Article content • Brenda Rus, 60, was found dead in a residence on Brentbrook Crescent in Barrhaven on April 6. Robert Rus, 61, was charged with first-degree murder. Article content Article content • Rachelle Desrochers, 54, was reported missing in April and had last been seen March 14 at a McDonald/s restaurant on Elgin Street. Investigators said they had reason to believe she was killed and her body was in a local landfill, where search efforts were ongoing. Joshua Blair, 25, was charged with second-degree murder and indignity to a body on May 26. Article content A Christmas 2024 slaying was also later determined to be a femicide. Jolene Arreak died in a home on Spadina Avenue on Hintonburg on Dec. 25. Manasi Foo, 35 was charged with second-degree murder and the attempted murder of a surviving victim, who was treated in hospital and released. Article content According to preliminary Ottawa figures for last year, released in January, 6,636 intimate partner violence (IPV) incidents were reported in 2024, resulting in 3,355 charges laid, an increase from the the previous year.
Vancouver Sun
2 hours ago
- Vancouver Sun
Police confirm shots fired at house in Surrey linked to extortion
The owner of a mansion that was shot at twice in under two weeks in Surrey's Panorama Ridge neighbourhood was being targeted by extortionists, Surrey police have confirmed. 'SPS investigators now believe that the two shots fired at the incidents at the residence is extortion-related and can confirm that the SPS is leading the investigation into that,' Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton of Surrey Police Services said in an email. No one was injured in either shooting but at least two bullet holes about 10 mm in diameter were left in the wrought iron fence in front of the beige stucco home. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Despite police installing a tower with surveillance cameras and occasionally parking an unmanned marked police SUV in front of the house on the 12000 block of Coulthard Road, the shootings have left some residents in the neighbourhood feeling unsafe to go for a walk in the normally quiet neighourhood. Police set up the cameras after the first shooting, which happened on May 14 at 3 a.m., he said. The second shooting was 12 days later, on May 26, also at 3 a.m. 'Police have not identified any suspects and the investigation is active and ongoing,' he said. Houghton said police wouldn't release further details 'because that forms part of the investigation and would reveal evidence, which, for obvious reasons, we cannot do.' Neither would he say whether the surveillance cameras captured anything useful to police or who police believe may be behind the extortion attempt. He said publicizing those details could jeopardize the investigation. He said Surrey's investigative services bureau 'speaks with counterparts across the country, including in Edmonton and Peel Regional Police (near Toronto), both of whom have experienced a number of extortion-related files in recent years.' The Surrey force didn't immediately have any data about the number of extortion-related cases it is investigating or has recommended charges for in recent years, he said. The surveillance cameras, but not the unmanned SUV, were in front of the house when the second shooting happened but police didn't receive a call about it until 8:30 a.m. that day, five hours after it happened, Houghton said after the second shooting. He also said then the owner of the house has no connection to any crimes and police believe the incident was targeted and not random. Police in both Edmonton and Peel Region have been investigating extortion attempts targeting South Asian Canadian business owners. A former B.C. solicitor general, Kash Heed, said last year that South Asian business owners in the Lower Mainland have paid millions of dollars to extortionists threatening violence, according to B.C.'s former solicitor general. Heed said one Surrey extortion victim he's aware of received daily threatening calls, with verbal and text messages becoming increasingly detailed, referencing his family members locally and in India. 'He was being sent graphic pictures of what would happen to his grandchildren and kids if he didn't pay. Frustrated by the lack of police assistance, he transferred more than $3 million to bank accounts in India.' In the latest Surrey case, Houghton confirmed the surveillance camera was on and recording at the time of the Sunday shooting and says it is 'quite obvious and overt' and is meant as a deterrent. 'I can't speak for someone who might not realize it's a camera trailer or not assume it's on. Most people would think it's on, as it is,' he said. Surrey police works with a provincial joint forces operation formed to investigate extortion attempts, various RCMP units and the anti-gang Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of B.C., he said. Messages left at the business owner's office and on his son's cellphone were not returned. With files from Sarah Grochowski, Postmedia News
Toronto Sun
2 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
Health minister says forced addictions treatment lacks evidence, feds won't intervene
Published Jun 03, 2025 • 4 minute read Marjorie Michel arrives for a cabinet swearing-in at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Tuesday, May 13, 2025. Photo by Spencer Colby / THE CANADIAN PRESS OTTAWA — Federal Health Minister Marjorie Michel says there's no evidence that forcing people into addictions treatment works — but she won't weigh in on whether provinces should pursue involuntary treatment. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account 'I will tell you that I think every single Canadian has the right to get treated,' she said. 'I won't tell you that to force them to be treated is a way to solve the problem. I don't think for now we would have any kind of scientific evidence on this practice.' Alberta has introduced sweeping legislation to allow family members, health care workers or police to apply to have someone ordered into treatment for addiction. Under that legislation, people using substances who are thought to pose a risk to themselves or others could be forced into a secure treatment facility for up to three months. In British Columbia, where the opioid crisis has been particularly deadly, the provincial government recently opened a 10-unit facility at a pretrial centre to treat people at the jail who have both serious brain injuries and addiction issues. The government also wants to add more facilities at jails across the province. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. B.C. officials said they are trying to provide help for people who are unable to ask for help, and prevent them from spending time in segregation as they wait for a bed to open up. Ontario announced last month that it plans to study how it can introduce involuntary treatment to the correctional system and plans to hear from people with lived experience and experts. The Ontario government has said it's looking to B.C. as a potential model. The proposed changes have been opposed by advocates who say governments should focus instead on expanding access to voluntary treatment. Michel said she won't comment on the provinces' plans for now. 'I will sit down and see results, because I think we need to work closely together, but mostly we need scientific evidence,' she said in an interview outside the House of Commons. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. A 2023 review published in the Canadian Journal of Addiction found there was 'a lack of high-quality evidence to support or refute involuntary treatment' for substance use disorder. The study concluded that more research is needed. The Canadian Association of Mental Health in British Columbia said existing evidence shows that forcing people into treatment actually increases the risk that they will die of drug poisoning after being released. Kora Debeck, a professor of substance use and drug policy at Simon Fraser University's school of public policy, said that's one of the reasons involuntary treatment is considered high-risk. 'I think there really is magical thinking about addiction treatment, and this thinking that if we can just get people into treatment, the suffering will go away and people will get better,' she said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Debeck said that addiction is a 'chronic relapsing condition' and people need supports around them to get better. 'I am really disappointed that so many governments seem to be moving away from a public health oriented approach to substance use and drug policy,' she said, arguing that harm reduction policies have not failed. She said the combined effects of the opioid crisis and the housing crisis have created a horrible situation that has people calling on their governments to do something different. More than 50,000 people died of opioid toxicity in Canada between 2016 and 2024. 'The supply of drugs is so toxic, it's so contaminated … and so what we're seeing very viscerally on the street is a level of suffering that we just haven't seen before,' Debeck said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In a statement, the president and CEO of the Canadian Association of Mental Health said that before they introduce involuntary treatment policies, governments should do a comprehensive review of the voluntary system. 'Many people want help but are unable to access timely, high-quality, voluntary care,' said Sarah Downey. The statement also said long-standing gaps in mental health and addictions care must be addressed and called for 'bold, collaborative leadership' from the federal government. In their federal election platform, the Liberals promised to add $500 million to the emergency treatment fund to address the overdose crisis, and to 'invest in deeply affordable housing, supportive housing and shelters' as a means of improving health care. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Michel was elected on April 28 in Papineau, the riding that had been represented by former prime minister Justin Trudeau for 17 years. She is a first-time cabinet minister. But she is no stranger to Parliament Hill. She served as Trudeau's deputy chief of staff since 2021 and before that served as chief of staff to two cabinet ministers. She said she understands the criticism of Prime Minister Mark Carney's decision not to name a minister of mental health and addictions, a role that existed in Trudeau's government. 'But you have a mental health minister, because I can tell you, I am the health minister and the mental health minister,' she said, adding that mental health will be one of her 'top priorities.' She pointed out that Carney has talked about his desire to boost Canada's productivity rate and said making improvements to mental health care is part of the solution. 'If you are not taking care of health and mental health, you won't get it, because people will get sick,' she said. Toronto & GTA Other Sports Toronto & GTA Ontario Toronto & GTA
