By Kim Yoo-chul
Apple joined with a host of leading companies and trade associations Tuesday to support a decision by Microsoft (MS) not to comply with the U.S. government’s request to turn over emails of a customer that are stored in Ireland.
"Ten groups filed friend of the court briefs in New York. These briefs make one conclusion unmistakably clear ― this case doesn’t involve a narrow legal question, but broad policy issues that are fundamental to the technology industry," MS said in its corporate blog.
MS has been in a legal dispute with the U.S. government over the protection of the privacy of its users. A federal U.S. judge recently issued an order for the licensing giant to submit customer details that are stored in its datacenter in Ireland.
The judge approved moves by the U.S. government to access digital files and other relevant information in MS email accounts to proceed with criminal cases.
MS says that it stores private communications such as email, photos and documents in datacenters region-by-region in order to help consumers and companies to retrieve their personal information, quickly and securely.
But MS plans not to cooperate with the U.S. government over the issue and stressed if it cooperates with Washington, then that will put its long-time commitment to privacy rights at risk.
"We believe that when one government wants to obtain emails that are stored in another country, it needs to do so in a manner that respects existing domestic and international laws,” MS said.
“In contrast, the U.S. government’s unilateral use of a search warrant to reach emails in another country puts both fundamental privacy rights and cordial international relations at risk. As today’s briefs demonstrate, the impact of this is far-reaching."
MS added that law enforcement plays a vital role in investigating crimes and keeping our communities safe, and it will not try to prevent it from fulfilling this role, but it believes reforms are needed that ensure they do their work in a way that promotes vital privacy protection and builds the trust and confidence of citizens in the U.S. and around the world.
Amazon, Cisco, Salesforce, Hewlett-Packard and AT&T, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Association of Manufacturers all supported the refusal by MS.
"These groups raise a range of concerns about the significant impact this case could have both on the willingness of foreign customers to trust American technology and on the privacy rights of their customers, including U.S. customers if other governments adopt the approach to U.S. datacenters that the U.S. government is advocating here," MS said.
Influential media from CNN, ABC, Forbes, Fox News, the Washington Post and the Guardian joined the protest by insisting that the U.S. government's moves will erode the legal protections that have long restricted the government’s ability to search reporters’ emails for information without the knowledge of news organizations.