Microsoft Fights U.S. Request for Data Stored Overseas (PCMagazine)

Microsoft is fighting a U.S. government request to turn over customer email data that is stored in Redmond's Dublin data center.

The summons was granted in December as part of a criminal inquiry, and Microsoft lost an appeal in April to have the search warrant annulled.

But the company is still fighting, saying in a Monday court filing that if the judicial order is upheld, it "would violate international laws and treaties, and reduce the privacy protection of everyone on the planet."

The issue, according to the New York Times, stems from Microsoft's insistence that the same rules for a search warrant in the physical world should apply online. James C. Francis, who issued the April ruling, pointed to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, which he said creates a hybrid search warrant-subpoena that would allow for access to data stored overseas.

According to the Times, Microsoft's protest is believed to be the first case of a corporation challenging a domestic search warrant pursuing digital information overseas.

In the post-Snowden age, when companies like Google and Yahoo are taking added steps to encrypt users' emails, it's no surprise that some organizations have moved their data abroad.

"Over the course of the past year, Microsoft and other U.S. technology companies have faced growing mistrust and concern about their ability to protect the privacy of personal information located outside the United States," Redmond's filing said. "The government's position in this case further erodes that trust, and will ultimately erode the leadership of U.S. technology companies in the global market."

Microsoft currently manages a global network of more than 1 million computers, stored in more than 100 data centers, spread across 40 countries, hosting more than 200 online services used by more than 1 billion customers worldwide.

The ongoing case is expected to continue in late July, according to the Times, which suggested that after Judge Loretta Preska's July 31 ruling, there may be more appeals.

U.S. telecom giant Verizon filed a brief on Tuesday in solidarity with Microsoft, encouraging other companies to join the fight.

"The search warrant in this case is no run-of-the-mill investigative measure," Verizon said in its filing. "If enforced, it would violate international understandings, harm American business, subject Americans to potential liability abroad, and invite foreign governments to unilaterally obtain electronic communications and data of Americans in the United States."