U.S. Department of Justice Publishes White Paper on the Cloud Act

On April 10, 2019 the U.S. Department of Justice announced the public release of a white paper on the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act (CLOUD Act). Enacted in March 2018, the Act updates the legal framework for how law enforcement authorities may request electronic evidence required to protect public safety from service providers while respecting privacy and foreign sovereignty. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein promises the DOJ will be proactive in working, both in the U.S. and abroad, to promote greater understanding and appreciation of what the CLOUD Act does. The CLOUD Act has two distinct parts.  First, the Act authorizes the U.S. to enter into bilateral agreements to facilitate the ability of trusted foreign partners to obtain the electronic evidence they required to fight serious crime. To qualify under the Act, a partner country must adhere to baseline rule-of-law, privacy, and civil liberties protections.  Through bilateral agreements, each country would agree to lower the legal barriers that prevent their communication service providers from complying with qualifying lawful orders for electronic data issued by the other country.  By lowering legal barriers, each country could serve its legal process, such as search warrants, directly on the providers of the other country, significantly increasing the speed and efficiency compared with existing methods of transferring electronic evidence.