EU proposals could grant police direct access to US firms' cloud data
The European Union is seeking ways to make it easier for law enforcement agencies to gather evidence from US tech firms. The European Commission has three proposals that could form the basis of future legislation, and one of them involves granting direct access to individuals' data stored in the cloud.
While the proposals are unlikely to prove popular with the public -- particularly when the UK is already subject to the invasive Investigatory Powers Act -- they are being pushed as a tool in the fight against terrorism.
The European Commission says that it needs to speed up the retrieval of data from companies such as Google and Facebook, regardless of which EU member state the data happens to be stored in. The EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova concedes that the proposals are controversial and have privacy implications, but describes the move as an "extraordinary measure for extraordinary threats."
The Guardian reveals the three proposals that the Commission is set to put forward next year:
- The least intrusive option involves allowing law enforcement agencies in one member state to ask an IT provider in another member state to turn over electronic evidence, without having to ask that member state first.
- The second option would see the companies obliged to turn over data if requested by law enforcement agencies in other member countries.
- The most intrusive option, allowing law enforcement agencies direct access to information in the cloud, is being suggested for situations where authorities do not know the location of the server hosting the data or there is a risk of the data being lost.
Jourova says: "This third option is kind of an emergency possibility which will require some additional safeguards protecting the privacy of people. You simply cannot massively collect some digital data for some future use."
Justice minister are meeting to discuss not only which of the proposals is best, but also to talk about the type of data that should be covered by future legislation.
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