FBI moves to expand computer search powers, complicating Microsoft’s push to protect overseas cloud customers
November 6, 2014
Grazed from GigaOM. Author: Jeff John Roberts.
Microsoft is the midst of a defiant stand against the federal government, insisting that a U.S. search warrant can’t force it to turn over emails located on a server in Ireland. The company has even taken the unusual step of opening itself to a contempt of court order, as part of a larger plan to reassure cloud computer customers in other countries that their data is safe from U.S. surveillance.
But now Microsoft’s high-profile legal campaign, which has received support from the likes of Apple and Cisco, could get under cut from another quarter: the FBI is quietly lobbying Congress to rewrite the rules for search warrants in order to expand their reach. If the lawmakers agree, this would mean that “searches” authorized by American judges would no longer be restricted to a specific geographic location in the United States (which is how search warrants typically work.)…
According to National Journal, the effort by the Justice Department focuses on an obscure corner of judicial procedure (emphasis mine):..
Read more from the source @ https://gigaom.com/2014/11/06/fbi-moves-to-expand-computer-search-powers-complicating-microsofts-push-to-protect-overseas-cloud-customers/