Gibson, a London-based FBI agent had some harsh words against Yahoo and Hotmail during a Computer Crime Conference in London. The agent chided Hotmail and Yahoo for hampering the global fight against cybercrime by poor controls, lax compliance with local laws, which creates a relaxed environment for cybercriminals.

Under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000,
an UK law, police and other investigative authorities have authority to
intercept communications, conduct covert or encrypted electronic data
surveilance, or tackle strong encryption schemes. Gibson’s complaint is
that many large ISP, such as Yahoo and Hotmail, use their international
multi-jurisdictional presence as an excuse for not complying with
British laws, such as RIPA.

"With Hotmail and Yahoo! you can’t get data using RIPA [the Regulation
of Investigatory Powers Act] because information is stored in the US,"
Gibson said. "Why aren’t ISPs required to comply with the laws of this
country?"

The basic problem is that many of the Internet criminals use free webmail, often provided by Yahoo or Hotmail, to conduct their illegal activities around the globe. The lack of workable mechanisms for law authorities to obtain information from ISP hampers their efforts, at least delaying detection and investigation on, in most cases, time-sensitive in nature crimes. What is the solution? According to Gibson - simple - better cooperation by ISPs and law enforcement - the laws are there, just cooperation is required. On the other hand, companies such as Yahoo and Hotmail may be interested in preserving the privacy of its US-based customers, for example, from intrusion by law enforcement agencies in another country. International, multi-jurisdictional issues such as this one, especially in a fast moving and little regulated area such as the Internet are likely to be very tricky as the line between privacy, independence, and law enforcement is very thin.