Microsoft is gearing up for another go at overturning a US court ruling that called for the software giant to hand over email data stored in its Dublin datacentre.
The supplier has so far challenged all court-ordered attempts to make it part with the information, on the grounds that the data is stored overseas where the US government’s search powers do not apply.
Microsoft was initially ordered by a US Department of Justice in December 2013 to comply with a warrant that would give law enforcers the right to seize and search the emails of a suspected drug trafficker.
The firm failed to have the move overturned by the US Court for the Southern District of New York in August 2014, but is set to make its case in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals on 9 September.
The outcome of the case has big implications for the cloud industry, as who has the right to access data stored off-premise remains a top concern for users.
For this reason, Microsoft’s stance on the issue has won the support of its rivals, including Amazon, Apple and Salesforce, to name a few.
Read more about data sovereignty
Ahead of the company’s return to court, Brad Smith, executive vice-president and general counsel for Microsoft, told the Council on Foreign Relations that it is determined to challenge the ruling because the laws on who can access users’ data in the cloud are so muddled.
“At the broadest level, this issue is about the future of technology. We need to ensure that people can trust the technology on their desks and in their pockets. And this trust will only come if the laws are clear,” said Smith.
“If the US government is permitted to serve warrants on tech companies in the United States and obtain people’s emails in any country, it will open the floodgate for other countries to serve warrants on tech companies for the private communications of American citizens that are stored in the United States in a datacentre owned by a foreign company.”
The case continues. .......... ........... ............ ............ ............. ............. ............... ............. .............. .............
