Tech companies around the globe will be forced to hand over data to European authorities under the European Union version of the U.S. Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act, unveiled April 17. After many months of discussion and a public consultation, the European Commission presented its proposal for a “Regulation on cross-border access to and preservation of electronic data held by service providers,” along with a law requiring all service providers to appoint a legal representative within the EU. The law would give European police the power to force companies to turn over emails, text messages, photos, videos, etcetera, within 10 days — or as little as six hours when there is “imminent threat to life or physical integrity of a person or to a critical infrastructure” — for investigation of crimes carrying a minimum jail sentence of three years. In this exclusive for The Privacy Advisor, Jennifer Baker describes the proposed regulation’s tenets and industry’s (perhaps expected) revolt against it.
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