Microsoft has taken a defiant stance against a court order to turn over customer data to law enforcement; much like Apple did in a prior standoff with law enforcement.
Microsoft’s court battle hasn’t received as much media attention as Apple did; however the implications for Microsoft’s line-in-the-sand approach is remarkably similar to Apple’s.
In 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice served Microsoft with a subpoena and search warrant for emails stored in a data center in Ireland. Microsoft refused to comply with the orders, maintaining its stance that private emails must remain private and off-limit to the U.S. government; especially data in another country- Ireland.
Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30) says it believes data stored overseas cannot be subject to U.S. search warrants. If the government wants information stored on a foreign server, it must go through a mutual legal assistance treaty.
In August 2015; a federal judge rejected Microsoft’s argument- reasoning that because emails can be instantly transferred to the United States with a click of a button, the search would actually occur in the Us and not in a foreign country. Microsoft has appealed this ruling. A decision on their appeal is pending.
Most of the details about the criminal case have been sealed, but we know the suspects are not American and the case involves drug dealing.
So why haven’t U.S. prosecutors just asked Ireland for the emails? That process involves too much red tape in the digital age, the U.S. government argued. If a server were housed in a country with an unfriendly government, the United States might not be able to clear the necessary hurdles to extract data it could need as part of future investigations.
Like Apple (AAPL, Tech30), Microsoft acknowledged that its bottom line is at stake. The cloud computing business is booming. People and corporations around the world are increasingly storing their data in Microsoft’s server farms. Customers must believe that their emails are secure. Similarly, Apple has said that its customers expect the iPhone to be secure and free from backdoors that hackers or governments could potentially exploit.
Apple and dozens of other tech and media companies, including CNN, have filed court briefs in support of Microsoft’s position. The Irish government has also voiced its support for Microsoft.
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