Australia: Announced CLOUD Act Agreement between USA and Australia

On 7 October 2019, the United States and Australia announced the commencement of formal negotiations towards a bilateral agreement regarding the facilitation of data transfers between the countries for the prosecution of crimes. A potential Agreement would be justified by the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (CLOUD) Act which was adopted by U.S. Congress in 2018. The aim of these negotiations and a possible agreement would be to facilitate the flow of electronic data between the countries to prevent, investigate and prosecute serious crimes such as terrorism and child sexual abuse. Furthermore, it would also enable official authorities to request data from communications service providers in both countries more easily.