CLOUD Act becomes law, increases government access to online info

CLOUD Act becomes law, increases government access to online info:
"The federal spending bill signed by US President Donald Trump on Friday does more than fund the budget.
It also makes it easier for law enforcement agencies to demand access to online information no matter what country the data is stored in.
Lawmakers added the CLOUD Act (PDF), which stands for Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act, to the spending bill before the final House and Senate votes Thursday.
It updates the rules for criminal investigators who want to see emails, documents and other communications stored on the internet. 
Now law enforcement won't be blocked from accessing someone's Outlook account, for example, just because Microsoft happens to store the user's email on servers in Ireland.
The law also lets the US enter into agreements to send information from US servers to criminal investigators in other countries with limited case-by-case review of requests...
...Brad Smith, Microsoft President and chief legal officer, said in a statement Wednesday the bill was "a strong statute and a good compromise," and added that "it gives tech companies like Microsoft the ability to stand up for the privacy rights of our customers around the world."...
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