U.S. and UK Strike Law Enforcement Data Access Agreement 

In a press release, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that the United States and the United Kingdom entered into the world’s first ever Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act (CLOUD Act) Agreement that will allow American and British law enforcement agencies, with appropriate authorization, to demand electronic data regarding serious crime, including terrorism, child sexual abuse, and cybercrime, directly from tech companies based in the other country, without legal barriers.  The Agreement will enter into force following a six-month Congressional review period mandated by the CLOUD Act, and the related review by UK’s Parliament.  

The current legal assistance process can take up to two years, but the Agreement will reduce this time period considerably, while protecting privacy and enhancing civil liberties.  The historic agreement was signed by U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr and UK Home Secretary Priti Patel at a ceremony at the British Ambassador’s residence in Washington, D.C. 

Both governments agreed to terms which broadly lift restrictions for a broad class of investigations, not targeting residents of the other country, and assure providers that disclosures through the Agreement are compatible with data protection laws.  Each also committed to obtain permission from the other before using data gained through the agreement in prosecutions relating to a Party’s essential interest—specifically, death penalty prosecutions by the United States and UK cases implicating freedom of speech.  

The novel US-UK Bilateral Data Access Agreement will dramatically speed up investigations by removing legal barriers to timely and effective collection of electronic evidence.  Under its terms, law enforcement, when armed with appropriate court authorization, may go directly to tech companies based in the other country to access electronic data, rather than going through governments, which can take years.  The current Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) request process, which sees requests for electronic data from law enforcement and other agencies submitted and approved by central governments, can often take many months.  Once in place, the Agreement will see the timeline for obtaining evidence significantly reduced. 

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The Regulatory Mix Today: U.S. and UK Strike Law Enforcement Data Access Agreement, Pennsylvania Amends Telemarketing Law; Requires Certain Telecom Company Disclosures 

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Pennsylvania Amends Telemarketing Law; Requires Certain Telecom Company Disclosures 

The new law amends the Telemarketer Registration Act and, among other things, adds a definition for robocall and includes it in the telemarketing prohibited practices.   

Importantly, for LECs, IXCs, ISPs that provide telephone service, and affiliated companies that provide telecom billing service must clearly notify their residential, business or wireless telephone subscribers in Pennsylvania of their ability to contact the do-not-call list administrator.  The method of notification must include, but not be limited to, placing the notice in billing statements mailed to residential, business and wireless subscribers and publication of notice in the consumer information pages of a local telephone directory of general circulation. The notification must specify the methods by which residential, business and wireless subscribers may place their names on the do-not-call list and how often renewal is necessary. 

The law is scheduled to become effective December 3, 2019. 

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The Regulatory Mix, Inteserra’s blog of telecom related regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of an Inteserra Briefing.