For months now, reports of the extensive data collection undertaken by the United States government have made headlines around the globe.

It’s also shone a spotlight on similar practices that are in place – or could be in place – in other parts of the world.

Here at home, Ontario privacy commissioner Ann Cavoukian has called for changes to Canadian legislation in the wakes.

“You’ve got all this activity in the States. What’s happening here in Canada? A deafening silence,” she told BNN in a January interview.

While little is known about the extent of any Canadian government-sponsored online eavesdropping, information on what private companies may do with your personal data isn’t quite so hard to come by.

Cellphones can be monitored for personal likes and dislikes, as well as information on where their owner tends to go.

That’s information businesses can use to decide which potential customers to target, and how best to reach them.

David Tubbs, a Kitchener-based marketing professional, says he tries to keep abreast of who might be looking at his data – and give them few clues to work with.

“I am very conscious of all the other people out there who are looking at this, whether I’m connected to them or not,” he says of his company-issued cellphone.

But data collection now goes well beyond phones and other consumer electronics.

In some cases, even home heating systems are being tracked – after all, how warm a thermostat is set may say something about the household’s purchasing power.

“If you guess that for every action you make, there’s a data point in a database somewhere – that’s probably not far from the truth,” says Ian Goldberg, a Waterloo-based expert in internet privacy.

What is known about Canadian data collection regulations is that companies can’t make use of personal information without the consent of the person in question – although some companies bury the request for consent in lengthy terms of service agreements.

CTV's Max Wark is looking at the world of Big Data and who could be looking at your personal information in a special series airing this week on CTV News.