Microsoft wants to appeal the ruling of the District Court of New York on July 31 that ordered the company to hand over email data stored offshore. To appeal Chief Judge Loretta Preska’s order, the company agreed to be held in contempt of court for not complying with the order. This is a brave stand in defense of user privacy that many top VPNs applaud.
Taking a Stand
Microsoft is holding fast to the idea that any data that is not stored on US soil is not subject to local warrants. Judge Preska of the New York District Court believes otherwise. She ruled that as a US company, Microsoft must comply with US warrants. Microsoft was ordered to hand over the data that is currently kept on a server that is located in Dublin, Ireland. They failed to comply with the order within the period that Judge Preska granted. Microsoft instead accepted a charge of being in contempt of court so that they could appeal the decision. Privacy advocates and VPN companies applaud this gutsy move that shows Microsoft is willing to take a few blows to protect user privacy.
The US is so keen on getting hold of the email stored in Ireland because the authorities think that the said emails contain evidence relating to an ongoing investigation. The case involves drug trafficking and the email contents could aid them in locating suspects or drug shipments. Whatever the case may be, not all the emails on that server belong to suspects, if any. The privacy of all the Microsoft users whose data in on those servers would be violated if Microsoft allowed the authorities to dig through them.
Microsoft does not agree with being held in contempt, but is willing to let it slide for a chance to appeal quickly. The company can also appeal the contempt order. By agreeing to be held in contempt, Microsoft also for the meantime avoids any punishment relating to the order.
