The United States and Australia are tightening their crime-fighting alliance, with a new landmark agreement that could see law enforcement agencies in both countries have easier access to the communications data of each other’s residents.
The Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (CLOUD) Act, which was approved in 2018, requires all U.S.-based cloud service providers to produce data, under subpoena, to any U.S. law enforcement agency regardless of where in the world that data is stored. The new collaboration builds on that measure, allowing the police of both nations access to any communications data from the other country for a serious crime, such as child sexual abuse, terrorism, ransomware attacks, and cyberattacks on critical infrastructure.
