[quote] In a similar vein to the discussion of the third-party doctrine, the issue of cross-border data acquisitions on the part of law enforcement was also a point of discussion. With companies like Google and Microsoft doing business and storing data at an international level, Jennifer Daskal, associate professor of law at American University, touched on the complicated relationship law enforcement agencies have with technology.

Where it might make sense to request data relating to a crime in the location a crime occurred, Daskal said companies have been reluctant to produce data based on where it is physically being housed. To access the data being stored in another county, an American agency might have to file a mutual legal assistance request with the authorities of that country, effectively adding weeks to the investigative process.

“It makes no sense for jurisdiction over data to turn on the question of where data happens to be located at any given moment,” she argued.