Updated on 2022-10-05: US-UK partnership on CLOUD Act
A collaboration agreement between the US and the UK entered into effect on Monday, extending the provisions of the CLOUD Act in both countries. Passed into law by Congress in 2018, the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data, also known as the CLOUD Act, allows law enforcement agencies access to customer data stored on the servers of US-based cloud hosting providers for the purpose of ongoing criminal investigations and on the basis of a warrant or subpoena. The joint US-UK CLOUD Act agreement allows agencies in both countries to request access to data located on servers in each others’ territories for criminal investigations, albeit agencies will be able to request the data of their own citizens only. The UK collaboration comes after the US also entered into a similar CLOUD Act agreement with Australia in December 2021. Read more:
- Landmark U.S.-UK Data Access Agreement Enters into Force
- United States and Australia Enter CLOUD Act Agreement to Facilitate Investigations of Serious Crime
- US-UK Data Sharing Program Goes Into Effect
Overview: US/UK Data Access Agreement Now in Effect
The Data Access Agreement that codifies how the UK and the US will respond to lawful data demands from law enforcement and investigators in the other country, took effect on Monday, October 3. The agreement, also known as the Agreement … on Access to Electronic Data for the Purpose of Countering Serious Crime, is authorized by the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (CLOUD) Act.
Note
- These type of agreements are always controversial, but are badly needed to both monitor and apprehend cybercriminals. The best possible outcome is an equal and opposite amount of opposition from privacy groups and national intelligence/law enforcement agencies.
- Data sharing agreements like this are needed to facilitate effective law enforcement response to multi-national crimes. Make sure you have a clear process, properly vetted by all parties, with those you plan to enlist in response to an incident well before it’s needed.
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