Don't fear the Patriot Act says Microsoft lawyer - (US Govt can get data without it)

http://ow.ly/6ENME

An article by Stephen Bell posted on computerworld.co.nz.

As the article states, the U.S. will seek to access data, regardless of the Patriot Act...which has recently been cited as a reason for concern about the U.S. accessing data in foreign nations.

"Microsoft’s Australasian legal chief says there is nothing to fear from the Patriot Act when considering a move to cloud-based services, because the US government can access your data regardless.

The Patriot Act has been cited as a reason for caution when considering cloud computing using providers in the United States. Some fear that this law, passed in the wake of the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks, could permit US government agencies to access their private data if it is stored at a datacentre in the US.

Lawyer Jeff Bullwinkel – associate general counsel and director of legal and corporate affairs at Microsoft Australia and New Zealand – in a recent blog, says there is no reason to fear the Patriot Act specifically. However, his comments are scarcely a reassurance. The US government can access your data with or without the Patriot Act, he says."

Bullwinkel is further quoted, "“US courts have long held that a company with a presence in the US is obligated to respond to a valid demand by the US government for information – regardless of the physical location of the information – so long as the company retains custody or control over the data.”"

The article goes on to further state, "New Zealand Computer Society CEO Paul Matthews, who is coordinating moves towards a cloud-computing code of practice in New Zealand, agrees with Bullwinkel’s analysis.
“The issue of data sovereignty and cross-border jurisdiction, which is really what we’re talking about here, is a very significant one and the clients that Mr Bullwinkel writes about are raising very valid concerns,” he says in an email to Computerworld.""