Microsoft’s plan to avoid a ‘return to the digital dark ages’ in wake of Safe Harbor decision

Tech companies are still reeling from a top European court's decision invalidating Safe Harbor, a trade agreement used by thousands of American companies to transfer European's data across the Atlantic. Microsoft president and chief legal officer Brad Smith argues that privacy is a human right and the Safe Harbor decision is an opportunity for stronger privacy regulations. Smith also warns that without policy changes, the invalidation could signal "a return to the digital dark ages" by setting the stage for a world where data is segregated by nation. But Smith lays out a four-step proposal to address what he calls the "privacy Rubik's cube" of balancing privacy rights, a global Internet and public safety within a legal framework that the company hopes will appease those on both side of the Atlantic.

The Microsoft plan is perhaps the most detailed road map released by a company in the wake of the Safe Harbor decision, and would require significant changes to law. The tone of the blog post and speed that such a plan was pulled together likely signals the real threat major tech companies feel from the ruling, which grew out of revelations about US government surveillance from former government contractor Edward Snowden.