Court Forced Microsoft to Disclose Personal Data

The private data of Internet users, including personal emails and other information, can be handed over to American law enforcement, even if that information is stored on servers outside the United States. Such decision was made by the US court ruling.

Privacy outfits have claimed that such decision would affect users of American Internet services and show “stark contempt” for EU people, while being in conflict with European rules on information protection. A few days ago, US Magistrate Judge decided that the US tech giants, such as Microsoft and Google, have to turn over private data if served with a valid search warrant from the law enforcement agencies of the United States, no matter where such data is stored.

Microsoft had previously tried to challenge a government search warrant that demanded a user’s data from a server in Dublin along with servers in the United States, arguing that Ireland is beyond the borders of American law. However, the US Judge rejected the motion of the software giant.

Open Rights Group was quick to claim that forcing American companies to turn over information stored overseas makes citizens in other countries vulnerable to any requests if they use services of the United States.

Since everyone knows about the extent of access to personal information from the Snowden revelations, the recent court ruling can only undermine customers’ confidence in American businesses even further. In the meantime, Microsoft explained that it was seeking to formally challenge the search warrant. They believe that the American government has no power to search a home in another country, nor should it have the power to search the content of email stored in Ireland.

The United States has entered into lots of bilateral agreements to establish specific procedures for obtaining evidence overseas. Apparently, the same rules should apply in the online world, but the US government disagrees. The judge ruled that the search warrant issued on electronic communications is not a conventional warrant, and therefore it gives it power beyond that of a standard American warrant.

Privacy groups point out that this judgment will increase the apprehension European people will feel that their information isn’t protected under the law of the United States. Apparently, if the Cloud industry of the United States was worried before about lack of confidence of customers from other countries, the recent judgment just upped the ante very considerably.

In the meantime, Microsoft is going to continue to appeal the decision, taking the case to a higher court and trying to fight some of the jurisdictional challenges brought about by the worldwide web and the sluggish speed with which the legislation in the country is updated.

They say that it is just the first step towards getting this problem in front of courts having the authority to correct the government’s views on the application of search warrants to material stored digitally overseas.