As more digital activity migrates to the cloud, investigators need to adjust their legal processes to align with the realities of online data storage. In this episode of Legal Unpacked, Justin Fitzsimmons will examine how to draft effective search warrants for cloud-based data, including the need to understand the types of user information providers actually collect and store.
You’ll learn the importance of reviewing and preserving key service documents, including terms of service, privacy policies, cookie policies, and screenshots of provider-facing dashboards or archive tools, to demonstrate what data exists and how the companies retain it.
There will also be an emphasis on defining, with precision, the types of data relevant to the investigation and supporting each request with the information courts expect: a clear explanation of the specific data sought, how that data is generated through user or system activity, where it resides within the provider’s infrastructure, why it is relevant to proving elements of the offense, and how it may help attribute the activity to a specific user. This approach provides a practical framework for satisfying the requirements of probable cause and particularity, while making your request intelligible and credible to both courts and service providers.
