According to Reuters, the court will decide whether U.S. prosecutors should have access to emails held on Microsoft servers located in Dublin, Ireland.
From Reuters:
The justices will hear the Trump administration's appeal of a lower court's ruling last year preventing federal prosecutors from obtaining emails stored in Microsoft computer servers in Dublin, Ireland in a drug trafficking investigation.
The ruling by the 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals was a win for privacy advocates, but Justice Department prosecutors have expressed concern that such a ruling could hinder criminal investigations. No matter the ruling, the case stands to have far-reaching consequences, as the Supreme Court will decide whether domestic search warrants apply to data held outside of the U.S.
In a blog post (opens in new tab), Microsoft President and Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith argued that allowing the government access to data stored outside of the United States would set a worrying precedent not only in the U.S., but also for governments around the world. Says Smith:
If the U.S. government can unilaterally use a warrant to seize emails outside the United States, what's to stop other governments from acting unilaterally to seize emails stored inside the United States? At a time when countries are rightly worried about foreign government hacking, the DOJ's interpretation would open the door to accomplishing the same thing.
According to Reuters, a ruling in this particular case is due by the end of June.
Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the Editor in Chief for Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl. Got a hot tip? Send it to daniel.thorp-lancaster@futurenet.com.
