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Q: I have a question about online backup services. In both civil and criminal prosecution, we have all heard or read about the contents of an individual computer being used as evidence, and if the crime or individual is "newsworthy" content splashed all over the new.
Does the same situation apply to software backup services? If they have been subpoenaed, would they deliver them? Or are there services that provide a kind of encryption that no one can access the content unless the owner? Not intend to be in court - just that Dell provided the backup service software with my new laptop and I'm hesitant to put all the content from my PC
A "there. " This is a great question. First, I must say I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice, but I spend a lot of time pouring through the Terms of Service (TOS) agreements and have worked with legal services to online service providers in the past. This morning, I spend some time with the TOS of many of our online backup providers.
My non-legally binding conclusions are entirely: Yes, if your online backup provider was assigned to hand over your data, they should. Your online storage space as you think, as the drive on your computer when it comes to a search warrant. In addition, the backup service provider does not (and can not legally) to store data they know to be in violation of the law. If the supplier had to do something to cover up your data (ie, by encryption), they would be in violation of the law. In fact, at least one provider (Carbonite) expressly forbids you to make your data unreadable, because it would prevent investigations.
In my experience, online service providers are sticklers for subpoenas, and will not recover customer data without an order of the competent court. While they are needed to help the application of the law, there are consequences to violate a user's privacy (both in terms of public relations and litigation).
But, as you suggest, once the data is returned, the genie is out of the bottle. However, the same would be true if you have backed up your data on an external hard drive and it was discovered during a search ordered by the court of your home.
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