Microsoft wins support from Apple
It has been almost 5 months since the dispute between Redmond and the New York courts began regarding whether the US authorities have the right to request unilaterally stored personal data in datacenters outside the country Specifically, the New York courts want to require Microsoft to reveal emails stored in a datacenter in Ireland, which would help solve a criminal case where the main suspect would have used the Outlook.com webmail.
Microsoft's position in response to such a demand has been negative, since they consider that if they acceded to the request they would be sitting adangerous precedent for the entire world in terms of data protection, which would give legitimacy to any government unilaterally requesting information from foreign citizens, stored in another country, without any counterweight or guarantee of respect for individual rights.
Well, yesterday Microsoft gave an important defense of its position, by getting more than 70 organizations to give testimony in its favoras friends of the court, that is, as third parties not involved in the litigation, but with something to contribute or say about it. These organizations include more than 28 media and technology companies, including Apple, Amazon, Salesforce, HP, eBay, The Guardian, Verizon, The Washington Post, Forbes, and CNN (curious not to see Google on the list). ).
The arguments presented by these companies suggest that, if the New York court's request is approved, it would raise great distrust toward the ability to protect user privacy by US industry as a wholeAfter all, if the US government can demand foreign user data stored on foreign servers from Microsoft, it probably can demand it from Apple, Amazon, or eBay, too, and also probably can from other governments around of the world That is a scenario where no technology company should or would like to be.
The media, for its part, is concerned that a victory by New York's local courts will undermine legal protections that, today, make it difficult for governments to register journalists' emails Due to this, the claim is also signed by the European Council of Publishers, and by the Committee of Journalists for Press Freedom.
Trade organizations, such as the United States Chamber of Commerce, and the National Association of Manufacturers, have also testified in favor of Microsoft's position because of their interest in protecting privacy of the data that many companies store in the cloud.
Finally, civil liberties defense organizations from across the political spectrum of the United States, along with university professors, have joined computer science and law. In this document you can review the complete list of adherents to the allegations.
It is clear that with this overwhelming support Microsoft's position is strongly reinforced, both in its specific proposals and in the idea that this case transcends Redmond's specific litigation with the New York courts, setting precedents that would affect the entire industry and users around the world.
As this case progresses we will continue to inform you of new developments, as we have been doing since its inception.
Via | Microsoft Image | Neowin
