Close X
Sunday, November 17, 2024
ADVT 
National

Airbnb wins Vancouver privacy ruling, as court quashes order to release host data

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 06 Jul, 2023 04:12 PM
  • Airbnb wins Vancouver privacy ruling, as court quashes order to release host data

Airbnb has won a court ruling that quashes an order from British Columbia's privacy commissioner that would have identified hosts and their home addresses in Vancouver. 

The B.C. Supreme Court ruling released Wednesday says the Information and Privacy Commissioner got it wrong when it ordered the City of Vancouver to release the information about hosts who hold short-term rental licences without notifying them.

Justice Jasvinder Basran's ruling says the privacy commissioner must reconsider its findings after notifying Airbnb hosts about the potential release of the information.

The ruling says both the City of Vancouver and the company had opposed releasing the records to an unnamed "John Doe" party, claiming the information could be used to harm the property owners.

The judge's decision says the privacy commissioner incorrectly classified home addresses as business information rather than personal information since Airbnb hosts run home-based businesses in their principal residences. 

The court ruling says home address information is indeed personal information and when coupled with a short-term rental licence holder's name, could lead to the discovery of a "treasure trove" of personal information. 

MORE National ARTICLES

Strike over for 120,000 public servants as union inks tentative deal with feds

Strike over for 120,000 public servants as union inks tentative deal with feds
The tentative agreement announced in the wee hours of Monday morning came after the Treasury Board, which oversees the administration of the federal government, tabled what it described as a "final offer" on Friday. 

Strike over for 120,000 public servants as union inks tentative deal with feds

Hot weekend weather sets record

Hot weekend weather sets record
The warm temperatures come a day after records were broken on Friday in cities like Victoria and Abbotsford. Temperatures Sunday afternoon have fallen below 28 degrees, with rain in the forecast Monday for several interior cities.

Hot weekend weather sets record

Body found in Vancouver blaze

Body found in Vancouver blaze
Vancouver Fire Rescue Services say they responded to a fire Saturday at 9:30 p-m on Dunlevy Avenue, in the back of the Asian Canadian Benevolent Association building. Police say they found the body of a 50-year-old man in the electrical room in the parking lot, where the fire is believed to have started accidentally.

Body found in Vancouver blaze

Flood watches around BC prompt evacuation orders

Flood watches around BC prompt evacuation orders
The Village of Cache Creek, nearly 350 kilometres northeast of Vancouver, has issued an evacuation order for a single property along the Trans Canada Highway due to an “existing or imminent” threat of flooding.

Flood watches around BC prompt evacuation orders

Avian flu at a poultry farm in BC

Avian flu at a poultry farm in BC
The agency says it will now set up additional primary control zones as needed around the infected zone, currently centred around the communities of Yarrow and Barrowtown 90 kilometres east of Vancouver. Since an outbreak began in 2022, H-5-N-1 has forced farms in B-C and across Canada to cull millions of birds when an infection is found.

Avian flu at a poultry farm in BC

Wildfires in BC put communities on alert

Wildfires in BC put communities on alert
The B-C Wildfire Service says the Dripping Water wildfire discovered on Thursday 600 kilometres north of Vancouver has now reached over 200 hectares. Meanwhile, the Lost Valley Road wildfire over 400 kilometres northeast of Vancouver discovered on Saturday has now reached over 100 hectares.  

Wildfires in BC put communities on alert