![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Witold-Banka.jpg\")
These international federations have eligibility regulations banning women with sex variations and transgender women from women\u2019s sport, unless their testosterone levels fall below certain thresholds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our study examined how WADA\u2019s Anti-Doping Administration and Management System (ADAMS) \u2014 a database containing doping test results \u2014 enabled this data sharing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We found that when international federations access doping data in ADAMS for sex-based eligibility determinations, there is a disclosure of that data by WADA that is subject to Canada\u2019s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). WADA, a Montr\u00e9al-based organization, became subject to PIPEDA in 2015 in respect of its collection, use and disclosure of personal information for inter-provincial and international activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Legal and ethical concerns<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
In our view, WADA\u2019s disclosure of doping data for sex testing violated PIPEDA in two ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First, the disclosures occurred without the knowledge or consent of athletes. Second, the disclosures were not for an appropriate purpose under the law. It was inappropriate due to the lack of scientific evidence and lack of consensus that women with testosterone levels above the thresholds have a competitive advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition, the data disclosures could cause significant harms to women athletes, including stigma, humiliation and the loss of business and professional opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Concerns about such practices were already raised by human rights organizations and investigative journalists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nonetheless, WADA\u2019s 2021 World Anti-Doping Code permitted international sport federations to use doping data for purposes unrelated to anti-doping, including monitoring the eligibility of transgender athletes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This permissive stance enabled the expansion of sex-testing policies by international federations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Response to the complaint and investigation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Initially, WADA\u2019s response to the privacy complaint suggested it viewed the issue as relatively minor, both in comments to the media and in its own internal board meetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This position was reflected in early drafts of the 2027 World Anti-Doping Code, which maintained the ability of international sport federations to use doping data for purposes unrelated to anti-doping, including sex testing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That approach shifted after the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Philippe Dufresne, launched a 16-month investigation into WADA in November 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The inquiry ultimately led WADA to agree to prohibit international sport federations and anti-doping organizations from using doping data stored in ADAMS for purposes other than anti-doping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
WADA has since revised the 2027 World Anti-Doping Code to include this prohibition. It must now communicate these changes to relevant organizations and develop mechanisms to ensure compliance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This outcome is likely to force international sport federations that have relied on doping data in ADAMS for sex testing to rethink how they regulate eligibility in women\u2019s and girls\u2019 sport \u2014 including considering more gender-inclusive approaches for competitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A reactive approach to athletes\u2019 rights<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
While the outcome of the investigation is a success for athletes\u2019 data-protection rights, it\u2019s disconcerting that it was needed in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Privacy experts and scholars have long criticized the global anti-doping system for not respecting athletes\u2019 data-protection rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Too often, international sport organizations deprioritize the human rights of athletes in their quest to govern sport. This stems from their lack of accountability to athletes and the mistaken belief that they are outside the reach of national legal systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a result, protections for athletes\u2019 rights often occur only after an international sports organization is compelled or pressured to do so through legal processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Legal challenges ahead for global sport<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
These concerns are increasingly being tested through legal challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Court of Justice of the European Union is considering whether the mandatory public disclosure of athletes\u2019 anti-doping rule violations complies with the EU\u2019s General Data Protection Regulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A ruling against such practices will require significant changes to the anti-doping system \u2014 something WADA could have pursued years ago if greater attention was paid to athletes\u2019 data protection rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Similar issues are emerging elsewhere in sport. The International Olympic Committee\u2019s recent decision to require genetic sex testing for women\u2019s events likely violates the data protection laws of many jurisdictions. Despite this, the IOC is pushing ahead with its policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a result, athletes and their advocates must continue to seek the intervention of courts and regulators to ensure athletes\u2019 data protection rights are upheld.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
Marcus Mazzucco<\/a>, Adjunct Lecturer in Sports Law, University of Toronto<\/a><\/em> and Jensen Brehaut<\/a>, JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Canada<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Privacy Commissioner of Canada recently announced the outcome of its investigation into the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA),<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10557,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science"],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WADA.jpg",1920,1080,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WADA-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WADA-300x169.jpg",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WADA-768x432.jpg",640,360,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WADA-1024x576.jpg",640,360,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WADA-1536x864.jpg",1536,864,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WADA.jpg",1920,1080,false],"morenews-large":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WADA-825x575.jpg",825,575,true],"morenews-medium":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WADA-590x410.jpg",590,410,true]},"author_info":{"info":["admin"]},"category_info":"Science<\/a>","tag_info":"Science","comment_count":"0","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WADA.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11491"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11491\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11493,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11491\/revisions\/11493"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}