Tech companies rally round Microsoft over US government cloud surveillance

September 5, 2016 Off By David

Grazed from Computing. Author: Graeme Burton.

Microsoft has been backed by technology companies and a swathe of US corporates in a legal action against the US government over laws that could have major implications for the development of cloud computing. The law would enable US government agencies to seize data hosted on third-party computers, while at the same time barring the hosting company from informing its customers of the seizure.

Microsoft claims that the law is unconstitutional, and filed suit in April in a Seattle federal court in a bid to have the law overturned. Microsoft argues that the law violates the Fourth Amendment, prohibiting unreasonable searches and seizures, and requiring warrants to be judicially sanctioned and supported by "probable cause"…

Microsoft revealed in the lawsuit that it has been subject to 2,600 federal court orders in the past 18 months, requiring it to hand over data to US government agencies and barring it from informing customers…

Read more from the source @ http://www.computing.co.uk/ctg/news/2469736/tech-companies-rally-round-microsoft-over-us-government-cloud-surveillance