USA PATRIOT Act » History » Version 4
Version 3 (Steve Welburn, 2012-11-20 12:27 PM) → Version 4/7 (Steve Welburn, 2012-11-20 12:35 PM)
h3. USA PATRIOT Act
The 2001 "USA PATRIOT Act":http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-107publ56/content-detail.html provides the US government with the right to search/seize data held by any US company or its subsidiaries. It does not matter where the data is physically stored, if it is held by a US company (Microsoft, Apple, Google, DropBox, Amazon...) then the US government can has a right to seize the data. However, in order to do so exercise this right it is necessary for the US government to obtain a court order for the purpose of an anti-terrorism investigation - they can't just idly decide to grab your data.
Further information:
* Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat "USA PATRIOT Act FAQ":http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pubs_pol/gospubs/TBM_128/usapa/faq-eng.asp
* Hogan Lovells white paper on "Government Access To Cloud Data":http://www.hoganlovells.com/hogan-lovells-revealing-study-about-governmental-access-to-data-in-the-cloud-detailed-in-white-paper-released-at-brussels-program-05-23-2012/ compares rights of access for various jurisdictions.
The Act:
* 2001 "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism" (USA PATRIOT) Act ("Link":http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-107publ56/content-detail.html).
The 2001 "USA PATRIOT Act":http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-107publ56/content-detail.html provides the US government with the right to search/seize data held by any US company or its subsidiaries. It does not matter where the data is physically stored, if it is held by a US company (Microsoft, Apple, Google, DropBox, Amazon...) then the US government can has a right to seize the data. However, in order to do so exercise this right it is necessary for the US government to obtain a court order for the purpose of an anti-terrorism investigation - they can't just idly decide to grab your data.
Further information:
* Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat "USA PATRIOT Act FAQ":http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pubs_pol/gospubs/TBM_128/usapa/faq-eng.asp
* Hogan Lovells white paper on "Government Access To Cloud Data":http://www.hoganlovells.com/hogan-lovells-revealing-study-about-governmental-access-to-data-in-the-cloud-detailed-in-white-paper-released-at-brussels-program-05-23-2012/ compares rights of access for various jurisdictions.
The Act:
* 2001 "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism" (USA PATRIOT) Act ("Link":http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-107publ56/content-detail.html).