The international privacy laws and e-discovery skies are changing rapidly: Congress recently signed the CLOUD Act into law, profoundly affecting the 1986 Stored Communications Act (SCA) and the privacy of U.S. citizens.
Foley & Lardner LLP issued a pithy post on the topic, noting that Congress passed the legislation, which was part of the $1.3 trillion government-spending bill, without any public hearings, review or public comment.
The firm listed the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s comments on the effect the “far-reaching, privacy-upending” CLOUD Act will have.
The act will “enable foreign police to collect and wiretap people’s communications from U.S. companies, without obtaining a U.S. warrant” and “allow foreign nations to demand personal data stored in the United States, without prior review by a judge.”
EFF’s complete commentary is available here.