Electronic Surveillance and Law Enforcement Access

On March 31st, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed into law SB 6280, a bill aimed at regulating state and local government agencies’ use of facial recognition services.  An overview of the law’s provisions can be found here.

Notably, Governor Inslee vetoed Section 10 of the bill, which
Continue Reading Washington Enacts New Facial Recognition Law

On March 12, 2020, Washington’s state legislature passed SB 6280, a bill that will regulate state and local government agencies’ use of facial recognition services (“FRS’s”).  The bill aims to create a legal framework by which agencies may use FRS’s to the benefit of society (for example, by assisting agencies in locating missing or deceased persons), but prohibits uses that “threaten our democratic freedoms and put our civil liberties at risk.”
Continue Reading Washington State Passes Bill Limiting Government Use of Facial Recognition

On October 3, 2019, the United States and United Kingdom signed an agreement on cross-border law enforcement demands for data from service providers (“Agreement”). The Agreement is the first bilateral agreement to be entered under the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (CLOUD) Act. It obligates each Party to remove barriers in their domestic laws so that U.S. and U.K. national security and law enforcement agencies may obtain certain electronic data directly from Communications Service Providers (“CSPs”) located in the jurisdiction of the other Party. The Agreement will go into effect 180 days after its transmission to Congress by the Attorney General, unless Congress disapproves by joint resolution.
Continue Reading U.S. and U.K. Sign CLOUD Act Agreement

R (on the application of Edward Bridges) v The Chief Constable of South Wales [2019] EWHC 2341 (Admin)

Case Note

Introduction

In Bridges, an application for judicial review, the UK High Court (Lord Justice Haddon-Cave and Mr. Justice Swift) considered the lawfulness of policing operations conducted by the South Wales Police force (“SWP”) which utilised Automated Facial Recognition (“AFR”) technology.  The Court rejected Mr Bridges’ allegations that the SWP’s conduct was unlawful as contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights (“ECHR”), Article 8, the Data Protection Acts 1998 and 2018 (“DPA 98 and 18”), and the Equality Act 2010.  In this blog post we consider several key aspects of the case.Continue Reading UK Court upholds police use of automated facial recognition technology

On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice released a white paper and FAQ on the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (“CLOUD”) Act, which was enacted in March 2018 and creates a new framework for government access to data held by technology companies worldwide.  The paper, titled “Promoting Public Safety, Privacy, and the Rule of Law Around the World: The Purpose and Impact of the CLOUD Act,” addresses the scope and purpose of the CLOUD Act and responds to 29 frequently asked questions about the Act.
Continue Reading Department of Justice Releases White Paper on CLOUD Act

This article originally appeared in Global Data Review on March 29, 2019

Last year, the US passed legislation expanding the geographic reach of certain legal process, including search warrants, issued to technology providers seeking customer data. Under the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (CLOUD) Act, warrants issued by US courts can force certain types of providers to disclose customer data stored anywhere in the world.

Notably, the CLOUD Act does not affect only US technology providers. The legislation covers all providers of defined technology services, so long as they are subject to US jurisdiction and in possession, custody or control of the data sought.  This article describes the CLOUD Act, addresses scenarios in which technology providers based outside the US may be subject to the legislation, and identifies mechanisms for challenging legal process issued under the Act.Continue Reading Reaching for the CLOUD

In August 2018, the Government of Australia unveiled a new proposed bill that would grant the county’s national security and law enforcement agencies additional powers when confronting encrypted communications and devices. The text of the draft Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Bill 2018 (the “Assistance and Access Bill” or the “Bill”) states that the purpose is “to secure critical assistance from the communications industry and enable law enforcement to effectively investigate serious crimes in the digital era.”

The Assistance and Access Bill, if enacted, could affect a wide range of service providers both in and outside of Australia.
Continue Reading Australia Proposes New Encryption Legislation

Covington’s Alex Berengaut and Kate Goodloe today hosted a webinar on the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (“CLOUD”) Act.  The CLOUD Act was signed into law in March and creates a new framework for government access to data held by technology companies worldwide.  The webinar, hosted with DataGuidance, is
Continue Reading Covington Webinar: Examining the CLOUD Act

In a decision that defines how the Fourth Amendment applies to information collected in the digital age, the Supreme Court today held that police must use a warrant to obtain from a cell phone company records that detail the location and movements of a cell phone user.  The opinion in Carpenter v. United States limits the application of the third-party doctrine, holding that a warrant is required when an individual “has a legitimate privacy interest in records held by a third party.”

The 5-4 decision, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, emphasizes the sensitivity of cell phone location information, which the Court described as “deeply revealing” because of its “depth, breadth, and comprehensive reach, and the inescapable and automatic nature of its collection.”  Given its nature, “the fact that such information is gathered by a third party does not make it any less deserving of Fourth Amendment protection,” the Court held.
Continue Reading Supreme Court’s Carpenter Decision Requires Warrant for Cell Phone Location Data


Two federal appellate courts are taking sharply different views on whether—and why—government agents must have some amount of suspicion to conduct forensic searches of electronic devices seized at the border.

The Fourth Circuit on May 9, 2018, held that government agents must have reasonable suspicion to conduct forensic searches of
Continue Reading Federal Appeals Courts Split on Forensic Searches of Devices Seized at Border