Green light for US law enforcement to demand data from Australian communication providers

Cloud Act deal will allow authorities to demand data from tech giants in days or weeks, rather than months or years

A parliamentary inquiry has given the green light to greater information sharing with US law enforcement despite its concern Australians will be kept in the dark about the number of orders made for data.

The joint standing committee on treaties has approved Australia's Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (Cloud) Act agreement with the US, signed by the Morrison government in December 2021, labelling it an important tool" for investigating serious crime.