Transatlantic data sharing treaty – Julian Hayes and Michael Drury talk to The Times

Transatlantic data sharing treaty – Julian Hayes and Michael Drury talk to The Times

BCL partners Michael Drury and Julian Hayes write for The Times on the new bilateral agreement between the UK and USA to obtain data from ESPs more quickly.

Here’s an extract from the article:

“In a landmark step for transatlantic crime-fighting, last week the home secretary and US attorney-general signed an agreement paving the way for UK and American law enforcement agencies to obtain data more quickly from electronic service providers operating in each jurisdiction.

Given where most of the power lies when it comes to technology, this will inevitably be one-way traffic, expediting the UK’s acquisition of evidence from US giants such as Facebook, Google and Twitter in the fight against serious crime, including terrorism and child abuse.

Until now, international data requests were made via cumbersome mutual legal assistance (MLA) arrangements, taking up to two years for authorities to obtain e-evidence, which could leave investigations and prosecutions mired in international red tape.

Under the new arrangements, a UK judge can issue the police, Serious Fraud Office and others with an overseas production order, which, in principle, means investigators can obtain electronically stored US data within just seven days.”

This article was originally published by The Times on 10/10/2019. You can read the full version on their site.

 

Authors:

Michael Drury is a partner at BCL with a diverse practice, ranging from extradition to representing individuals in regulatory proceedings brought by the FCA; acting in criminal investigations by the SFO; and is a leading expert on surveillance and investigatory powers as well as information law and cybercrime.

Julian Hayes is a Partner specialising in all aspects of corporate crime and regulatory work. As well as dealing with high profile fraud and corruption matters, including investigations with an international dimension, he has considerable experience of advising corporates on data protection and cybercrime issues.