Microsoft setback in cloud era test case
July 31, 2014
Grazed from FT. Author: Richard Waters.
Microsoft on Thursday suffered a setback in a case testing the cross-border reach of law enforcement in the cloud computing era, after it was ordered to hand US authorities a user’s email held in a datacentre in Ireland. The decision, if it stands, represents a further reversal for the US internet industry in the wake of the Snowden revelations about widespread surveillance by the National Security Agency, according to legal experts.
“For technology companies that store data outside the US, it’s a hugely important case,” said Craig Newman, Managing Partner of New York law firm Richards Kibbe & Orbe. “It really opens up a Pandora’s box in terms of seeking information outside the US.” Microsoft, which had fought the order, immediately said that it would appeal. Its resistance has already won the backing of Brussels, which earlier this year questioned whether the US attempt to access email held overseas breached international law…
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