An interesting case is unfolding in Ontario where Megaupload Ltd. (a cloud storage provider) and Equinix Inc. are facing potential seizure orders for data on 32 cloud computing servers located in Canada.

Megaupload is alleged to have committed offences under USA law by facilitating wrongful dissemination of copyright protected movies and music.

The Attorney General of Canada (at the request of the US Government) recently applied to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for an order requiring Equinix Inc. and Megaupload Ltd. to deliver data on 32 servers to US prosecutors which is alleged to be likely to contain evidence of the alleged offences.

The Court denied the application because the massive volume of data requested was likely to be over-broad (and thus overly invasive of privacy interests). However, the Court invited the parties to better define the scope of the relevant material on the servers and return to court with a request for a more refined and targeted seizure order.  

See: Canada (United States of America) v. Equinix Inc., 2013 ONSC 193 )

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