Under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), there are specific circumstances where a commercial business in Canada is allowed to collect personal information without the knowledge or consent of the individual1. These exceptions include:
Journalistic or literary purposes (option A): Organizations may collect personal information without consent when it’s for journalistic, artistic, or literary purposes, as these activities are considered to fall under the freedom of expression provisions.
Interests of the individual (option B): If the collection is clearly in the interests of the individual and consent cannot be obtained in a timely way, for example in emergency situations where the individual’s life, health, or security is threatened.
Investigative purposes (option D): When the collection with the knowledge of the individual would compromise the availability or accuracy of the information, and the collection is reasonable for purposes related to investigating a breach of an agreement or a contravention of the laws of Canada or a province.
However, option C is not one of the exceptions provided under PIPEDA. The act does not allow for the collection of personal information without consent solely on the basis that the collection would lead to the creation of products that would benefit the public and consent would be difficult to obtain. While public benefit is a consideration in the ethical use of personal information, it does not override the requirement for consent under PIPEDA unless the situation falls under other specific exceptions1.
Therefore, the correct answer is C, as it is the exception that is not permitted under the current framework of PIPEDA for collecting personal information without the knowledge or consent of the individual1.
