The government published a report summarizing answers submitted by the public and members of the AI Strategy Taskforce during its 30-day consultation launched last October. The consultation sought views on how Canada should update its national AI strategy. The resulting report synthesizes feedback from more than 11,000 participants.
On Feb. 18, 2026, the British Columbia Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by U.S.-based facial recognition company Clearview AI, upholding findings from the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of British Columbia that the company violated B.C.’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) through its collection and use of facial images without consent. This case started with investigations by privacy commissioners in British Columbia, Alberta, Québec and at the federal level, which concluded that Clearview AI’s scraping of images from the internet constituted unlawful collection of personal information. Clearview AI then filed an application for judicial review arguing that B.C.’s privacy law did not apply to its operations. The application was dismissed on the grounds that there was a real and substantial connection between the company’s activities and the province. Unsatisfied with the conclusion, Clearview AI turned to the Court of Appeal to overturn the findings against itself.
- The Court confirmed that scraping images from publicly accessible websites does not exempt organizations from consent obligations under B.C. privacy legislation, as the “publicly available” exception did not apply to Clearview’s collection of personal information. This exemption was therefore interpreted narrowly by the Court, which it justified given the quasi-constitutional status of privacy laws.
- The Court discarded the notion that Clearview AI had a right to collect personal information online that was competing with individuals’ right to personal information protection. Instead, the Court notes that it is an exercise of balancing a “need with a right.”
- Conversely, the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta concluded in a counterpart decision that although a current interpretation of “publicly available” in Alberta’s Personal Information Protection Act exemption did not cover Clearview AI’s scraping of personal information, the exemption was too restrictive of freedom of expression. As a result, the Court ordered that the exemption be broadened. However, there have not been legislative amendments since.
- As such, companies who conduct scraping activities must review their practices to align with heightened regulatory scrutiny and cannot expect to rely on the “publicly available” exemption to collect personal information online.
OPC joins global call for safeguards around AI‑generated imagery
On Feb. 23, 2026, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada joined more than 60 data protection and privacy authorities worldwide in issuing a joint statement on AI‑generated images and videos, including deepfakes. The statement highlights the significant privacy and dignity risks posed by the use of personal information in generative AI systems, particularly for children. Organizations are expected to implement robust safeguards to protection personal information, ensure transparency about the AI systems that are used, provide effective mechanisms to respond to removal requests for harmful content, and address risks specific to children.
Canada and Germany sign a joint declaration on AI and launch an alliance
