Military Law Enforcement can now seize Cloud Data from Apple, Google, and Microsoft

For years, military prosecutors and law enforcement were forced to seize an accused’s phone, tablet, laptop etc., in order to obtain electronic data and communications.  After doing so, the law enforcement agent would have to conduct a forensic search of the device seized and pull the data/communications relevant to the investigation.  This was problematic for law enforcement officials because it required physical possession of the device and the law at the time didn’t give military judges the power to issue investigative subpoenas and military courts-martial were not recognized as courts of competent jurisdiction per the Stored Communications Act (SCA, 18 U.S.C. sec. 2701-2712).  Since 2019, however, the Military Justice Act 2016 has enabled military judges to issue investigative subpoenas, as well as warrants and orders under the SCA.  This means that military authorities now have the ability to obtain your Cloud Data from Microsoft, Apple, and Google without ever seizing your phone and many times without your knowledge.  This also may happen with social media such as Facebook and Social Media.

In this video, Attorney Matthew Thomas discusses the law enforcement practice of obtaining and searching Cloud data with Attorney Patrick Korody.