We're Fighting the Feds Over Your E-mail

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[Commentary] Microsoft will oppose the US government at a hearing in federal court in New York, arguing that it can't force American tech companies to turn over customer e-mails stored exclusively in company data centers in other countries. This dispute should be important to you if you use e-mail, because it could well turn on who owns your e-mail -- you or the company that stores it in the cloud.

Microsoft believes you own e-mails stored in the cloud, and that they have the same privacy protection as paper letters sent by mail. This means, in our view, that the US government can obtain e-mails only subject to the full legal protections of the Constitution's Fourth Amendment. It means, in this case, that the US government must have a warrant. But under well-established case law, a search warrant cannot reach beyond US shores. Technology should advance. But timeless values should endure, and digital common sense should prevail.

[Smith is the general counsel and executive vice president for legal and corporate affairs at Microsoft]


We're Fighting the Feds Over Your E-mail