A new ruling states that Microsoft will not have to hand over information that is stored on a server in Ireland to authorities in the U.S. This comes after a New York judge sided with law enforcement and penalized Microsoft for not complying. Following that initial ruling, a three judge panel at the Appeals Court ended up siding with Microsoft.
From the CNN Money report:
A federal judge in New York sided with law enforcement and penalized Microsoft by holding it in civil contempt of court.
But a three judge panel at the Second District Court of Appeals has sided with Microsoft on Thursday, saying that "warrants traditionally carry territorial limitations."
"The Stored Communications Act does not authorize courts to issue and enforce against U.S.-based service providers warrants for the seizure of customer email content that is stored exclusively on foreign servers," they wrote.
We've seen Apple put up a fight against the government this year, and now Microsoft is standing its ground. Privacy is important, and it is great to see big companies fighting to keep it that way.
