Lakehead University Gmail controversy
p2pnet news view Freedom | P2P:- Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario, is in the news again.
In 2006, university president Fred Gilbert was worried about the health impact of the 2.4Ghz radio waves used by wireless networks.
A year later, it garnered more attention when the Lakehead University Faculty Association argued against the change to Google’s email, “alleging violations of collective agreement rights to privacy and academic freedom,” says the CAUT ACPPU Bulletin.
Now, it didn’t violate a collective bargaining agreement, “when it replaced its campus e-mail network with Google’s e-mail service,” says the story, “But arbitrator Joseph Carrier acknowledged the university exposed its academic staff to greater danger because ‘…the likelihood of such incursions by U.S. authority into a private e-mail system (Lakehead’s own former system) was marginal compared to what might occur in the presence of the Google system’.”
Blogs Canadian law professor Michael Geist, who was an expert witness in the case »»»
LUFA maintained that the switch raised concerns about the prospect of surveillance by U.S. authorities under laws such as the USA Patriot Act. The arbitrator dismissed the claim, arguing that the collective agreement did not create an obligation to provide an email system nor guarantee absolute privacy.
He points out the arbitrator said although he was “sympathetic to their plight and the fact that big brother could be watching over their e-mail communications,” it, “simply brings to the fore the caution advanced by Mr. Pawlowski when he commented upon e-mail systems generally before the Senate. One should consider e-mail communications as confidential as are postcards”.
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June, 2009
health impact – Cell phone, brain tumour link, March 31, 2006
CAUT ACPPU Bulletin – Arbitrator Dismisses Google Grievance, June, 2009
Michael Geist – Arbritrator Rules Lakehead University Can Switch Email System to Gmail, June 15, 2009
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June 15th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
In all truth every email provider can expose you to risk after you click send.
This being said i don’t think Gmail is any less or more secure against big brother than anyone else, even internally hosted systems can be hacked if 1 user decides his password should be Abc123…
What is really needed is for tougher laws against Identity Thieves and Safer web surfing practices being followed and taught to kids today.
June 15th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
If you want privacy in _any_ email system, encrypte your communications. There’s no other way.
June 15th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
Encrypting communication is all very well. Sadly it requires the recipient to be able to decrypt so is therefore not used.
The idea that an email is as private as a postcard is a dangerous ideology. Laws need to be passed that allow emails to have the same protection as the postal service at the very least.