How Law 25 Revolutionizes Privacy for Residential Real Estate Agents in Québec
La Loi 25 au Québec, officially known as "Loi modernisant des dispositions législatives en matière de protection des renseignements personnels," was adopted to strengthen the protection of personal data. This law has a significant impact on websites, including those of real estate agents (courtiers immobiliers résidentiels), as it imposes strict requirements for the management and protection of personal information.
Main impacts of Law 25 on websites for residential real estate agents:
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Data responsibility and governance: Companies must appoint a data protection officer who will oversee compliance with Law 25 and respond to individuals' questions about the protection of their data.
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Explicit consent: It is crucial to obtain explicit and informed consent before collecting or processing personal data on websites. Residential real estate agents must ensure that their online forms and other data collection interfaces comply with this requirement.
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Transparency and privacy policy: The law requires websites to be transparent about the use of personal data. Privacy policies must be updated to reflect data management practices in accordance with Law 25, detailing how data is collected, used, and protected.
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Incident management: In the event of a data breach, companies must have procedures in place to quickly report incidents, minimize potential damage, and inform the affected parties.
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Access to information: Users must be able to easily access their personal data to verify, correct, or delete it if necessary.
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Anonymous data: Once personal data is no longer necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, it must be destroyed or made anonymous.
Companies, including residential real estate agents, that do not comply with these requirements may face severe sanctions, including substantial fines. Therefore, it is essential for real estate agents to review and adjust their online practices to ensure compliance with Law 25 (Leonard) (Government of Québec) (Rubik - Agency 360°).
Law 25 goes well beyond the mere mention on a website of the use of cookies. It also requires that visitors be able to choose which information (or traces) they agree to leave. At EstateFunnel, we take this approach even further. On the page presenting our privacy policy, we allow visitors to view the information we have collected on the pages they have visited, and to customize their cookie preferences. In this video, we illustrate how refusing performance cookies puts an end to the collection of page views.
Here is a brief illustration of the impact of cookie preferences on data collection:
Real impact of cookies on websites for residential real estate agents
We notice that many websites for real estate agents offer the option to accept or reject cookies, but without this having a real impact on them. Why offer a choice if it doesn't change anything in practice?
Taking Law 25 seriously
For us, taking Law 25 seriously is a priority. We have even decided to go beyond mere compliance. With our sites, visitors have the opportunity to truly test their choice regarding cookies. This reassures everyone about the control of their data.
The truth about Google ReCaptcha
By the way, did you know that Google ReCaptcha is also a tracker? It analyzes users' mouse movements to determine if they are made by a human. In our opinion, sites that use ReCaptcha should not only clearly announce this but also offer the possibility to opt out. Are we too purist? Perhaps, but at our place, we like to ensure things are done properly!
In conclusion, Law 25 is a significant step toward enhancing the privacy and protection of personal information for individuals in Québec, including those who engage with websites of residential real estate agents. It mandates stricter governance, explicit consent, transparency, incident management, access to information, and data anonymization. Non-compliance can lead to serious penalties. As the real estate market continues to embrace digital practices, the implications of Law 25 highlight the importance of adopting compliant and user-centric online strategies.
