Microsoft Corp must hand over emails from its services stored in a data center in Ireland to the U.S. government, a U.S. judge ruled on Thursday in a case that has raised concerns among privacy groups and big technology companies.
Microsoft and other US companies challenged the criminal investigative warrant for email messages, arguing that federal prosecutors cannot use their customers' information that was obtained in foreign countries.
However, after a two-day hearing in New York, Provincial Judge Loretta Preska ruled that the warrant requiring the company to hand over all its data for inspection is legal, regardless of where it was stored.
“It is a matter of control, and it is not a matter of the placement of the said information”, said Preska.
The judge said that he would temporarily suspend the order to allow Microsoft to appeal to the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals.
The case appears to be the first in which the company violates a US investigative warrant seeking data that is stored abroad.
AT&T Inc, Apple Inc, Cisco Systems Inc and Verizon Communications Inc support Microsoft, together with the Electronic Frontier Foundation privacy group.
The companies are concerned that they could lose billions of dollars in revenue to foreign competitors if their customers fear for their data.
In a statement, Microsoft's general counsel, Brad Smith, said that the company will file an appeal.
We would like to remind that in August of last year, the Institute of Informatics and Innovation estimated that Snowden's revelations could cost the American cloud computing industry between 22 and 35 billion dollars over the next three years.
