Today there has been a new episode in Microsoft’s fight against the US government over its mail service data. Government agents asked the company for emails stored on their services from a user who has remained anonymous for now; However, Microsoft replied that it had no obligation to deliver such data since it was stored on servers located in Ireland., and therefore fell within the jurisdiction of that pee. If the US wanted those emails, it had to make a formal request to the Irish government, and only when the judges there issued an order would the data be released. This process can be long and laborious, so the legal representatives of the US government tried to convince the judge who was handling the case that the important thing was not where the data was, but that the company had access to it.
Legal confrontation of height
They were successful, and at the beginning of last month the judge ordered Microsoft to hand over the data even though it was not in US territory. Although this may sound like the end of the story, it actually seems to be just the beginning, because Microsoft has refused to comply with the judge’s order. In an agreement with the federal government, the company has agreed to be sentenced for resistance to authority for these actions, again opening up possibilities for reaction. And it is that although such a sentence sounds like a bad thing, in reality it is exactly what Microsoft’s lawyers want.
And it is that Microsoft had run out of options in the court that takes the case, since the appeal to which it had the right was dismissed; being sentenced for contempt, now a new process is opened in which the company can appeal the decision at higher levels. So for now Microsoft will not be penalized or fined, until the entire procedure is resolved. However, a letter from the Obama administration to the court where the case was made states that the company may face penalties in the future.
Microsoft is not alone in this case.Companies like Apple, Verizon, AT&T and Cisco have publicly supported it, in one way or another, aware that if a legal precedent is set they may be forced to give the government all the data on their foreign users, something that would destroy their aspirations in other markets.
Source | ZDNet | Ars Technica
