Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg “took a firm approach and outlined that a decision on the data center was imminent,” according to a memo written by Marne Levine, who was vice-president of global public policy at the time. “[Sandberg] emphasized that if we could not get comfort from the Canadian government on the jurisdiction issue we had other options.” Christian Paradis, Canada’s then-industry minister, said he would send the letter agreeing to Facebook’s request later that day, according to The Guardian. It didn’t matter, though, as, the project was ultimately built in Iowa. (Globe and Mail, The Guardian)

Talking point: Even if one were to assume the worst—that Facebook was trying to skirt Canadian laws—it would seem the company did the right thing in asking Canada not to seek authority over the data of non-Canadians. After all, Canadians wouldn’t want their data passing through, let’s say, a Japanese data centre, and have that data fall under Japanese jurisdiction. However, it’s the appearance of stiff-arming politicians that doesn’t look good here. That’s especially true when you consider that around the same time as these demands were issued, Facebook was one of several tech companies giving U.S. intelligence services—and therefore the Five Eyes, which includes Canada—a backdoor into Facebook data.