According to a joint statement by the two countries, the Anglo-American Data Access Agreement (DAA) signed by the two countries in 2019 will come into effect on October 3, this year.
“Data access contracts give service providers around the world access to information and evidence related to the prevention, detection, investigation, or prosecution of serious crimes faster than ever before,” the statement said. Stated. July 21 To the US Department of Justice (DoJ) press release..
The first agreement of this kind, the DAA, will launch a “new era of cooperation” between the United Kingdom and the United States, enabling researchers in each country to gain better access to “important data.” This will facilitate efforts to combat criminal activity, bring perpetrators of child abuse and criminals such as terrorists to trial and prevent “further damage”.
According to the statement, the DAA will maintain “strong surveillance and protection” to ensure that human rights and freedoms are not compromised or compromised.
The agreement requires the United States and the United Kingdom to legally allow carriers to legally respond to direct requests for DAA data made by “related public authorities” in the other’s jurisdiction. Works byUK policy Fact sheet Published on July 21st.
The fact sheet clarifies that the agreement “does not create new competence because all DAA requirements require compliance with relevant existing national obligations bound by public authorities.”
Impact
Currently, US law prohibits US companies from sharing certain data at the request of foreign governments. Many popular communications services, including messaging and social media platforms, currently operate within the jurisdiction of the United States. As a result, UK entities may find it difficult to obtain the data needed for criminal investigations.
DAA has enabled UK and US public authorities to collect important data in a timely and efficient manner. According to the fact sheet, this agreement ensures that “criminals cannot hide data behind jurisdiction barriers to hide criminal activity.”
As the United States is home to many global telecommunications services, more data requests under the DAA are expected to flow from the United Kingdom to the United States. In the United States, DAA can reduce the burden of having to deal with a Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) request from the United Kingdom, which is the traditional way to gain data access.
MLA requests can usually take months or years to process. In contrast, DAA requests can be processed in days if needed, without interfering with relevant investigations.
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Naveen Athrappully is a news reporter covering business and world events in The Epoch Times.