Microsoft tests US warrant powers

The technology industry is rallying behind Microsoft, as the company fights a government warrant demanding it turn over a user’s e-mail account stored at a data center in Dublin, Ireland. The federal government and the Redmond (WA)-based tech giant are at a standoff over the geographical limits of a US warrant, which has broader implications for the emerging business of cloud storage. Both sides will have a final chance to plead their case on Sept 9 during oral arguments at the US Court of Appeal for the Second Circuit in New York.

Microsoft and a number of observers have argued the law guiding government access to electronic communication -- the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) -- could not have anticipated the model for data storage today when it was written in 1986. The government, however, argues that the case should not turn on where the information is stored. Instead, it should focus on the fact that Microsoft is a US-based company under the government’s jurisdiction. Two previous judges have upheld the government’s warrant, and one found Microsoft in contempt.