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How Technology is Prompting US/EU Tension on Mutual Legal Assistance Peter Swire Huang Professor Law and Ethics Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business Senior Counsel, Alston & Bird LLP Emory Law School Thrower Symposium February 11, 2016
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Overview Changes in global communications create challenges Cross-border data flows common and increasing for cybercrime, other crimes, cybersecurity, and national security Law enforcement has large national security implications, especially for counter-terrorism Criminal law is part of “all tools” approach for counter- terrorism and national security Strict US privacy law creates obstacles to EU requests for data Strict EU privacy law creates obstacles to US requests for data What are we to do?
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Research context for this talk/paper Research project on mutual legal assistance (with Justin Hemmings) “Stakeholders in Reform of the Global System on Mutual Legal Assistance,” http://ssrn.com/abstract=2696163http://ssrn.com/abstract=2696163 “Mutual Legal Assistance in an Era of Globalized Communications: The Analogy to the Visa Waiver Program,” http://ssrn.com/abstract=2728478 http://ssrn.com/abstract=2728478 Research and policy work on Safe Harbor/Schrems/EU (with DeBrae Kennedy-Mayo): “US Surveillance Law, Safe Harbor, and Reforms Since 2013”, http://ssrn.com/abstract=2709619 http://ssrn.com/abstract=2709619 Today’s project: bringing the two parts together
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Why UK and Others Want Direct Access to Data/Evidence Held in the US Announcement last week of UK/US agreement that, if enacted, would enable UK to go directly to providers in US for stored records, wiretaps, and national security wiretaps Have been working with industry/civil society/academic group on these issues, to assure privacy/human rights rules for these Stored records: UK victim, UK suspects, email or social network records held in US (law enforcement) Wiretaps: Alice in UK emails/Skypes Bob in UK; it is encrypted, but may be plaintext at server in US (law enforcement) National security investigations: UK investigation, and don’t want to necessarily share it with NSA; evidence accessed in US
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US Privacy Law is Stricter than EU US Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) stricter in many respects than law enforcement rules in other countries: Judicial oversight of request Probable cause, or almost (reasonable and articulable suspicion) Notice to service provider of the basis of the request 1 st Amendment: Don’t provide evidence for hate speech, blasphemy, etc. Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties Careful review in US DOJ Office of International Affairs Big delays, averaging 10 months even for successful requests EU perspective: LOTS of evidence held in US by global service providers US won’t provide vital evidence, even where EU victims, crimes, suspects
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EU Privacy Law is Stricter than US US seeks to export data/evidence from EU, for many reasons Commerce – Safe Harbor, global companies and services Law enforcement/national security – we are allies Strict EU privacy laws 1998 Directive, and new General Data Protection Regulation Schrems ECJ case in October, struck down Safe Harbor US/EU negotiations about stricter EU privacy rules Privacy Shield – commercial and some foreign intelligence Umbrella agreement – new US promises on data uses and downstream disclosures when receive from EU US perspective: there must be limits to EU insistence on changing US practices
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Mutually Assured Frustration Human rights advocates on both sides of the Atlantic can’t imagine lowering their standards US: “You have no judges and no probable cause!” EU: “You have no comprehensive privacy law like ours and lack legal structure for downstream uses!” plus “The NSA makes the US an unsafe place for our data!” In our era of global communications, blaming each other and blocking legitimate data flows among allies not the right way to proceed New agreements have to be effective and also follow privacy and human rights laws and norms
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Some Thoughts on the Way Forward Clearly describe the situation (a main goal of our research project) Technology – why so many new data flows and challenges Law – why each side distrusts the other’s approach Educate the elites who are prone to criticize any reform Identify concrete reforms that enable data flows while honoring core legal principles of each country Consider how to expand beyond the “club” of US and EU, to address legal, privacy, and human rights challenges for global data flows
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