How does the CLOUD Act affect BraveGen and its customers?

The CLOUD Act does not impact how customers can use BraveGen services.

On March 23, 2018, United States Congress passed the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act (CLOUD Act), updating the legal framework for United States law enforcement requests for data stored on the servers of communication and cloud service providers. Clarifying prior law, the CLOUD Act provides a limited mechanism for United States law enforcement to request data stored in the United States and overseas. Importantly, the CLOUD Act also creates additional safeguards for cloud content, including under a new option for the United States to enter into executive agreements with other countries governing law enforcement requests.

All customer data in BraveGen is held in services provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS) in the USA. The CLOUD Act provides minor updates to a decades-old law that is strictly limited to helping law enforcement agencies fight and deter international criminal and terrorist activity. It does not, as some have suggested, give U.S. law enforcement agencies free access to data stored in the cloud.

The CLOUD Act does not change the process or requirements for law enforcement requests for data as part of a criminal investigation. The CLOUD Act does not give United States law enforcement unlimited or unfettered access to data. United States Law enforcement may seek content from service providers in only two circumstances: (1) with the customer’s consent or (2) with a warrant issued by a United States court in accordance with United States criminal procedures.

The CLOUD Act does not impact AWS services or how we operate our business at BraveGen. AWS are very transparent about the number of United States law enforcement requests that they receive, are vigilant about customer privacy and security and have a history of challenging government requests for customer information that they believe are overbroad or otherwise inappropriate.

More information about AWS and the CLOUD Act can be found here.