Known for her innovative work on privacy issues, Ann Cavoukian serves as the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, Canada. In this role, Ms. Cavoukian deals with the enforcement of privacy regulations in Ontario, which primarily relate to the Personal Health Information Protection Act, the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, and the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Ann Cavoukian’s office issues guidelines on privacy, resolves disputes, provides informational resources, and tracks judicial and legislative decisions that affect personal and corporate privacy. An advocate of proactively protecting the rights of the user, Ann Cavoukian believes that “privacy means control, not secrecy.”

As the developer of Privacy by Design, Ann Cavoukian bases her model of proactive privacy around three core concepts: information technology systems, responsible practices, and the design of network hardware and software. Ms. Cavoukian also stresses the need for special care in handling financial and medical data. On the Information and Privacy Commission’s website, www.ipc.on.ca, Ann Cavoukian outlines the seven basic principles necessary for maintaining individual and organizational privacy. The first three principles demand that system designers should anticipate security breaches before they happen, and design networks accordingly, so that privacy is the default setting embedded into the system. The fourth and fifth principles state that it is possible to maintain privacy and security simultaneously, and that data must be handled securely throughout its entire life cycle. Finally, with her sixth and seventh principles, Ann Cavoukian emphasizes the necessity for openness and respect; users and stakeholders must be able to verify that all practices are operating according to their objectives, and any system implemented should be user-centric.