NEW YORK: In a case closely watched by the tech sector, Microsoft will challenge a US court order requiring it to give prosecutors electronic mail content associated with an overseas server.
Microsoft said it plans to argue that the warrant, which would require the tech giant to turn over customer emails stored in a data centre in Dublin, should be nullified because it would give the US government excessive power to pry over private information.
The case comes amid rising concern about US surveillance following revelations of snooping disclosed by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. Leading tech firms, including Apple and Verizon, have filed briefs supporting Microsoft.
Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith said the customer emails, sought in this case in a Justice Department narcotics probe, should be entitled to the same protections as paper letters sent by mail. That means prosecutors should only be able to access the information in the electronic “cloud” with a warrant.
“But under well-established case law, a search warrant cannot reach beyond US shores,” Smith said in an op-ed published Wednesday in The Wall Street Journal.
AFP
