Google, Inc., has proposed “a new framework” for law enforcement access to cloud data that would allow “countries that commit to baseline privacy, human rights, and due process principles to gather evidence more quickly and efficiently,” company Senior Vice President and General Counsel Kent Walker said in a blog post that was based on a speech he delivered June 22 at the Heritage Foundation.

Once countries make those commitments and the U.S. amends the Electronic Communications Privacy Act to authorize data disclosure by U.S. companies to foreign governments under such baseline commitments, “the next step would be for the United States and foreign governments to sign new agreements that could provide an alternative to the MLAT [mutual legal assistance treaty] process. The bilateral agreements that could be authorized by the legislation put forward by the Department of Justice provide a promising avenue to improve global privacy standards and create a pathway for foreign governments to obtain digital evidence for investigations,” Mr. Walker said.

Courtesy TRDaily