---
title: "ITIF Applauds Re-Introduction of LEADS Act"
date: "2015-02-13"
issues: ["Privacy"]
content_type: "Press Releases"
canonical_url: "https://itif.org/publications/2015/02/13/itif-applauds-re-introduction-leads-act/"
---

# ITIF Applauds Re-Introduction of LEADS Act

WASHINGTON (Feb. 13, 2015) — Welcoming the announcement that Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) has re-introduced the Law Enforcement Access to Data Stored Abroad (LEADS) Act to clarify how U.S. authorities can access data held overseas, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation today issued the following statement from Senior Analyst Daniel Castro:

*ITIF has been a *[*leading voice*](https://cdn.sanity.io/files/03hnmfyj/production/f105e16e5aa3e225d412e3c65d31b768ce29445d.pdf)* in the effort to establish international legal standards for government access to data. We need to settle questions of jurisdiction, establish rules of transparency, create better cooperation, and limit unnecessary government access to data on citizens of other countries.*

*The LEADS Act takes a number of useful steps to modernize the rules around how U.S. authorities can gain access to electronic data. In particular, it clarifies that warrants issued by U.S. courts for data stored abroad only cover data that is in the account of an American.*

*The LEADS Act would also improve and facilitate Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLATs), which are designed for law enforcement agencies to receive and provide assistance to their counterparts in other countries. Currently, government investigators complain that the existing MLAT process is too slow and cumbersome to meet their needs. This bill would lead to smarter law enforcement and better coordination across borders.*

*Finally, by passing the LEADS Act, Congress will make clear to foreign countries that data localization and other barriers to the free flow of information across borders impede online innovation and are unnecessary to meet the needs of law enforcement. Many foreign countries have sought to inhibit the flow of information across borders with policies such as forcing companies to build data centers within their borders.*

*Congress should move quickly to debate the LEADS Act to ensure U.S. firms remain competitive overseas and to establish high standards for protecting privacy and civil liberties.*

---
*Source: Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF)*
*URL: https://itif.org/publications/2015/02/13/itif-applauds-re-introduction-leads-act/*