The CLOUD Act
This seminar considers whether New Zealand should adopt the CLOUD Act regime.
Presented by
Description
This regime—named after the United States Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act 2018 (CLOUD Act)—is a hugely significant new international data sharing mechanism championed by the United States and United Kingdom.
Operating through bilateral international agreements, the CLOUD Act regime offers law enforcement unprecedented ability to swiftly obtain electronic data from technology companies overseas, by directly enforcing their own country's court orders extraterritorially without independent review in the country where the order is being enforced. This represents an important change from the current main method for obtaining such data, mutual legal assistance (MLA), which requires local court review to safeguard individual rights, including digital privacy rights. The New Zealand government has recently indicated it may seek a bilateral CLOUD Act regime agreement with the United States.
This seminar will provide an overview of this new regime, detailing how this differs from MLA and other tools available to law enforcement. It will then give a preliminary analysis of the arguments for and against New Zealand joining the CLOUD Act regime, focusing on the impact on digital privacy rights.
Speaker Bios
Tim Cochrane is studying for an MPhil in Law at the University of Oxford. His research interests include digital privacy rights, national security, public and private international law, and other aspects of human rights and public law. Tim is admitted to practice in New Zealand, New York, and England and Wales. He recently worked as an international disputes lawyer in London and New York, and originally trained with Kensington Swan's Litigation and Public Law team in Wellington. He has a BA(Hons)/LLB from the University of Otago and an LLM(Distinction) from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Please register by Monday 24 August 2020
For more information contact: Sharelle Kooyman
law-events@vuw.ac.nz 027 358 9796