Cloud could be storing data anywhere

Re Everything you always wanted to know about techs (but were afraid to ask), Feb. 24 Thanks for publishing this article.

There is so much material here that I know you could not address all the issues that have arisen or might arise as these companies achieve greater influence over our lives.

Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet and IBM (the sixth member of the group of five) host services that the public rarely sees, but may also challenge the privacy and rights of Canadians. These are what are known as cloud services.

Many corporations, universities and government departments use Google as their corporate email and office applications service. It provides solid, reliable networked service that saves money and creates efficiencies. Amazon, Microsoft and IBM host data management and storage applications for corporations. These services are fast, reliable and scalable, and these save corporations that subscribe to them money in infrastructure and staffing.

When we interact with these corporations, our data is often put in the cloud. That does not mean it is sitting and moving about freely in space. Our data is saved on hardware somewhere, processed on computers somewhere and analyzed somewhere, and maybe somewhere else.

When I send an email, purchase something online, make an inquiry, the data that these activities generate is saved somewhere — probably not in Canada. Do we have laws that can protect our data if it is not in Canada? Is my data subject to foreign laws? Do I have any way of knowing when information that I hold dear is not subject to the same laws that I am? Joe Lawlor, Toronto