Microsoft victory in overseas email seizure case is upheld – Reuters (Jan 24, 2017)
This was one of those rare cases where many of the big tech companies banded together to support one of their number on an issue of concern to all of them. The case concerns data held by Microsoft in a data center in Ireland but requested by US authorities investigating a crime (there’s a good summary of the case here). Microsoft and its pals have argued that this data should not be subject to US law enforcement requests because it resides outside the US, even though Microsoft is a US-headquartered company. Were the government’s argument to be upheld, data held anywhere by a US-based company could be obtained by the authorities in the US, regardless of whether the user has any ties to the US, which could dramatically impact tech companies’ ability to operate in overseas jurisdictions. That’s precisely why Microsoft has had the support of Apple, Amazon, and others, because the effects of upholding the government’s arguments here would be significant. This is a victory not just for Microsoft but the sector as a whole, and I would hope that the Supreme Court either refuses to hear the case or upholds the current verdict.
via Reuters
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