Microsoft Corp. is required to hand over to U.S. authorities emails and other customer account information stored on servers at a data center in Dublin, Ireland, a U.S. court ruled on Friday, in a case that has raised concerns from privacy groups and major technology companies.
Microsoft and other US companies have challenged a subpoena by federal prosecutors seeking to turn over customer and subscriber data stored in other countries.
At the end of a two-hour hearing in New York, Judge Loretta Presca said the search warrant, approved by a federal judge, requires the company to turn over all data it controls, regardless of where it is stored.
“It’s a question of control, not location,” Preska said. The case is believed to be the first in which a private company has challenged a federal warrant for data stored on servers overseas. Microsoft’s lawsuit was supported by briefs from several technology companies—including AT&T Inc, Apple Inc, Cisco Systems Inc and Verizon Communications Inc.
Companies worry they risk billions of dollars in lost revenue if their customers start to fear their data is subject to seizure by U.S. law enforcement agencies anywhere in the world. It is unclear which agency requested the warrant or why. The warrant and all related documents are sealed.
The technology companies argued that search warrants issued in the United States cannot be executed abroad under the law. But U.S. Justice Department lawyers countered that the warrant required the company to hand over documents and data under its control, in the same way that U.S. banks are required to hand over transaction records held in foreign countries to U.S. authorities.
Source: kathimerini.gr
