The United States and the United Kingdom have signed an agreement designed to help law enforcement agencies gain faster access to data related to serious crimes.
This is the first such agreement based on the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act, or CLOUD Act, which was enacted into U.S. federal law on March 23, 2018.
The new CLOUD Act Agreement, the U.S. Department of Justice says, will allow law enforcement agencies from both countries to demand electronic data regarding certain cases from tech companies in other countries.
The agreement, the DoJ explains, applies to serious crimes, such as terrorism, child sexual abuse, and cybercrime, but still requires appropriate authorization.
While a data sharing agreement already exists between the two countries, the legal process can take up to two years at the moment, and the new agreement is meant to significantly reduce that time, “while protecting privacy and enhancing civil liberties,” the DoJ says.
The agreement’s terms are meant to lift restrictions for a variety of investigations, not targeting residents of the other country, and to assure providers that any disclosures made in line with the Agreement are compatible with data protection laws.
Additionally, both the U.S. and the U.K. committed to obtain permission from the other before using any of the data that was obtained through the agreement “in prosecutions relating to a Party’s essential interest—specifically, death penalty prosecutions by the United States and UK cases implicating freedom of speech,” the DoJ says.
Under the terms of the agreement, law enforcement agencies may contact tech companies based in the other country directly to request access to electronic data, instead of going through governments, as that could take a very long time.
T ..
Support the originator by clicking the read the rest link below.
