Proposed US-UK Data Access Deal Violates US Privacy, Speech Protections - Advocacy Groups
The United States needs to avoid signing a data sharing agreement with the United Kingdom because UK surveillance laws would allow London to avoid provisions in the US Constitution protecting speech and other rights, a coalition of advocacy groups led by Human Rights Watch warned in a letter to the US Department of Justice on Monday.
"US law broadly protects speech, with the US Supreme Court limiting First Amendment protections in only a very narrow set of circumstances," the letter addressed to acting Deputy Assistant US Attorney General Richard Downing said. "However, UK law includes several pieces of legislation criminalizing expression in a manner that ... would be inconsistent with the freedoms set out in the First Amendment to the US Constitution."
At issue is the 2018 US law known as the "Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (CLOUD) Act," which authorizes bilateral agreements with other nations that could force US companies to turn over communications, personal data and associated bulk data to foreign governments, the letter said.
The letter included an analysis of more than a half-dozen UK surveillance and data seizure laws that could be used to violate the US Constitution, EU privacy laws and international conventions on data sharing.
As an example, the letter cited vague and potentially broad bans on speech in UK Terrorism Act 2006, which prohibits statements glorifying terrorism and the possession of terrorist propaganda, the release said.
Vague and potentially broad bans on speech are also found in the United Kingdom's Malicious Communications Act 1988, which prohibits the sending of messages that are "indecent" or "grossly offensive," the release added.
The letter also raises the prospect that a UK law that authorizes data interception warrants could run afoul of US Constitution limits on searches and seizures.
In addition to Human Rights Watch, the letter was signed by The Electronic Frontier Foundation, Access Now, Demand Progress, Fight for the Future, the Freedom of the Press Foundation and the Government Accountability Project.