PIPEDA through the eyes of tech businesses: what you really need to know before entering the Canadian market

When a technology company enters new markets, such as Canada, privacy issues suddenly become not a legal formality, but part of the product and brand trust. This is where PIPEDA for SaaS comes in, which is often perceived as something “distant” and purely Canadian. In fact, this law directly affects how your service collects, stores, and transfers user data. And for startups operating globally, this is no longer an option, but part of the rules of the game.

When PIPEDA suddenly starts to apply to you

PIPEDA applies not when you have an office in Toronto, but when you work with Canadian data in a commercial context – customers, employees or business contacts – even if the company is physically located in the EU or the UK. The law covers both cross-border data transfers and the processing of information outside Canada if it relates to its citizens. At the same time, it may not apply in provinces with their own similar legislation or when it comes to non-commercial use of data. This is what personal data protection Canada looks like in practice for technology businesses.

List of PIPEDA compliance requirements of interest to auditors and partners

Auditors look not at the scope of policies, but at the logic of working with data. They are interested in whether the company understands what exactly is considered personal information. This is where the practical PIPEDA compliance checklist comes in, for example:

• a clear definition of what data is personal (contacts, finances, IP, behavioral identifiers);
• a designated responsible person and transparent information collection objectives;
• user consent and restrictions on the collection of unnecessary data;
• control over the storage, accuracy and deletion of information;
• technical and organisational security measures in accordance with the sensitivity of the data;
• the ability for users to access their data and request corrections.

This is what PIPEDA for SaaS looks like in practice in everyday processes. And this is what partners want to see during audits and due diligence.

Personal data protection in Canada: how it looks in practice in tech companies

In tech companies, privacy has long been considered part of the product, not just a legal section on the website. This is what personal data protection Canada looks like in real processes. It is important not only to collect data, but also to show that you know how to handle it. And this is exactly what auditors check by comparing processes with what is included in the PIPEDA compliance checklist. Here’s what needs to be considered:

1. The user knows how and why their data is being used.
2. They may access the information and request its correction.
3. Has the right to withdraw consent to processing.
4. The company has implemented privacy policies and trains its team.
5. Contractors work with data only on a contractual basis.
6. In the event of an incident, the company is obliged to report the leak.

All this looks like operational discipline, not theory. And it is precisely this maturity that regulators and partners pay attention to.