Tech heads call for digital privacy law

Top tech executives want Congress to update a decades-old privacy law to clarify that the government can’t use a warrant to nab e-mails or other digital information stored abroad.

Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith noted that one major digital privacy law dates back to 1986, which has created troubling uncertainty about people’s privacy protections and companies’ legal obligations. The issue is especially salient for Microsoft, which is currently locked in a legal battle with the Justice Department over a warrant for data stored on a server in Ireland.