When Edward Snowden blew the whistle on the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency’s collection of data in coordination with the National Security Agency (NSA), what followed was a series of disclosures about the sharing of email communications by foreign nationals.
Privacy protection is an important reason for businesses and individuals to switch to Canadian Web hosting.
In July of 2014, New York District Judge, Loretta Preska, upheld a decision that ordered Microsoft to provide emails of an unidentified customer with data held in a foreign jurisdiction, in this case data stored in Ireland, to the federal government. in spite of the alleged complaint of privacy violations by those countries involved.
Citing control over information rather than location as the rationale for the decision on Microsoft’s data storage, the ruling could have serious implications for other major software companies in terms of enforcement. Lawyers representing Apple, AT&T, Cisco Systems, and Verizon Communications, all provided arguments to support Microsoft’s claim, with both sides arguing over the Stored Communications Act, or SCA, part of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986. This act allows law enforcement to obtain the information they are requesting by means of warrants, court orders or subpoenas.
“Today’s decision is a major blow not just for Microsoft, but for the entire U.S. cloud-computing industry,” Christopher Soghoian, the principal technologist for the American Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement today. “If these companies wish to regain the trust of their global customers, they must embrace security technologies such as cloud cryptography, which can provide real privacy protections where the law does not.”
As more and more information comes to light since the NSA scandal and the reach of “Uncle Sam” becomes more evident, more Canadian companies and individuals are switching to Canadian owned web hosting services.
Canada’s Privacy Rules
The enactment of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) 2001 in Canada provides for federal regulation of private bodies. Integration of rules from the EU data protection laws as part of PIPEDA establishes the basis for shared international rules for governing the collection, use and disclosure of private data.
The PIPEDA applies to personal information, as well as service providers. The legislation requires that organizations obtain consent for the collection, use, and disclosure of data; that such activities be conducted in a reasonable and lawful manner; and that the protection of personal identity be upheld as individual right.
Canada’s strict privacy laws under PIPEDA are one key reason that more are switching to Canadian Web hosting. At FullHost, a Canadian provider of Web Hosting, Reseller Hosting, Virtual Private Server Hosting, Managed VPS Hosting and Cloud Hosting since 2004, takes hosting of data seriously to comply with Canadian privacy laws. With data centers located in Vancouver BC and Toronto Ontario, client data is protected by Canadian laws. This extends to foreign individuals, such as US nationals and corporations with data hosted on Canadian soil.
