MR. NICHOLAS SIMONS

BILL M 205 – 2013

SOCIAL MEDIA PASSWORD PROTECTION ACT, 2013

This Bill amends the Personal Information Protection Act to prohibit an organization from requesting or requiring an individual to disclose the personal access information of their social networking websites. This Bill also prohibits an organization from requesting or requiring an individual to access their social networking site in their presence.

HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:

1. The following definitions are added to the Personal Information Protection Act:

"personal access information" means user names and passwords, login information, or other security information that protects access to a personal social networking website.

"social networking website" means an Internet-based service that allows individuals to:

(a) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, created by the service;

(b) create a list of other users with whom they share a connection within the system;

(c) view and navigate their list of connections and those made by others within the system.

2. The following section is added after s.7 (2) and before s.7 (3) of the Personal Information Protection Act:

7  (3) An organization must not:

(a) request or require an individual to consent to the disclosure of their personal access information to their social networking websites; or

(b) request or require an individual to consent to access their social networking websites in their presence.

Explanatory Note

This Bill amends the Personal Information Protection Act to prohibit an organization from requesting or requiring an individual to disclose the personal access information of their social networking websites. This Bill also prohibits an organization from requesting or requiring an individual to access their social networking site in their presence.