The Data Access Agreement (DAA), by which the US and UK have agreed how one country can respond to lawful data demands from police and investigators in the other, took effect on Monday.
The DAA (aka the Access to Electronic Data for the Purpose of Countering Serious Crime) is intended to facilitate cross-border law enforcement within the boundaries set by privacy and civil liberties laws, though a legal analysis by the Brooklyn Journal of International Law on the agreement suggests a more nuanced impact, with some civil rights enhanced, others reduced, and uncertainty when people from other countries are involved.
The DAA spells out US and UK obligations under the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (CLOUD) Act, which the US Congress approved in 2018. The CLOUD Act authorized bilateral agreements like the DAA between the US and its foreign partners, because the other major mechanism for international cooperation – Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties, or MLATs – takes too long. Other countries like Australia have negotiated their own agreements for making legal requests for data.
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Source: The Register