The challenges of collecting data outside the U.S.

http://ow.ly/8trj4

An article by Alex Vorro posted on the insidecounsel.com website.

The article focuses on issues related to collection of electronically stored information (ESI) that exists outside of the U.S.

The article states, "In our Internet Age, with emails and other information constantly whistling across the welkin, a company may have its data residing on servers in multiple countries or even continents. While the immediate accessibility is a benefit, the potential problems companies face when it comes time to collect or produce that data for the sake of a lawsuit or discovery can be serious—especially for U.S. businesses."

The article examines differences in the way the EU approaches data collection, including different philosophical differences regarding privacy rights of employees.

The article mentions safe harbor provisions as well, as a possible means of addressing data that resides in the EU.  The author states, "Another potential avenue to extract data from EU nations is through safe harbor provisions, under which certain outside companies are licensed to accept data from EU sites. “They basically have set themselves up as little EUs in the U.S., so they have the same types of protections as the EU and other countries,” says Quarles & Brady Partner Steven Hunter."