Justice Department Seeks Access to Data Stored Outside US for Criminal Probes

The US Justice Department is working its way through to get access to data that tech giants store outside America for carrying out criminal investigations.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Legislation that would give US law enforcement access to data stored outside the United States is being prepared to end court-imposed restrictions that have allowed Google, Microsoft and Yahoo to withhold information from cybercrime investigators, Assistant US Attorney General Leslie Caldwell said in a speech.

"We intend to submit legislation to Congress to address the [court] decision’s significant public safety implications," Caldwell said told the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Thursday.

A federal appellate court ruled in July that US authorities cannot use a search warrant to obtain data from a US company such as Microsoft if the data is stored in another country, Caldwell explained.

Since then, "US providers such as Google, Microsoft and Yahoo! have refused to produce information that they have chosen to store abroad," Caldwell noted.

The decision could be overturned on appeal. But, at present the limitation applies, even if the data belongs to a US citizen who resides in the United States, Caldwell added.