New Bill Would Allow US Police to Get Electronic Communications Overseas

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — New legislation introduced in the US Senate would allow law enforcement agencies to collect electronic communications of US citizens and people inside the United States even when the communications are outside the country, Senator Orrin Hatch said in a press release on Tuesday.

Hatch and Senator Chris Coons introduced the International Communications Privacy Act (ICPA) earlier on Tuesday to address the question of whether US warrants extend beyond the United States.

"[The ICPA] clarifies that US law enforcement can obtain the electronic communications of US persons and persons located inside the United States pursuant to a warrant, regardless of where those communications are located," the release stated.

Additionally, it would authorize US law enforcement to obtain the electronic communications of foreign nationals who are outside the United States in certain circumstances.

The extraterritoriality of warrants is at the heart of a lawsuit against the US government by the Microsoft Corporation. In July 2016, a judicial panel ruled in favor of Microsoft, finding that the US government cannot force American companies to turn over data that is located in servers outside the United States.

The case has implications for future US-EU trade deals as EU law holds private companies responsible for the protection of individuals’ private data.