Alberta Information and Privacy Commissioner Frank Work has given the University of Alberta the approval to convert its e-mail accounts to Google's Gmail service--as long as university officials warn users about the possibility that their e-mails could be examined by U.S. authorities. The Edmonton Journal reports the commissioner's decision came after the university supplied him with a privacy assessment of the Gmail plan. In his decision, Work said the university has done what it reasonably can to ensure the protection of personal information, but because the e-mails are stored on American servers, they could fall under the U.S. Patriot Act. Under that law, e-mails could be secretly viewed by American authorities, the report states.
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