IGF 2012 Workshop 172: Jurisdictional Issues on Civil and Law Enforcement Access to Cloud Data

Professor Ian Brown discusses civil and law enforcement access to cloud data at the 7th meeting of the Internet Governance Forum in Azerbaijan. He states that as a result of recurring problems regarding cloud, some governments (e.g. UK, US, Canada) are discussing legal obligations regarding intercept capacity. As for the UK, Brown relates that the current government has been developing new lawful interception requirements on ISPs, which are currently required to retain basic e-mail and mobile communication records as well as location information due to the EU Data Retention Directive. Brown additionally argues that the current UK surveillance regime is not transparent – “normal” courts do not have jurisdiction over these powers despite the fact that accredited police agencies might soon be able to access communications data, which reveal when citizens are online and who they talk to through email, among other information.