Microsoft refuses to comply with tax order to expose emails stored in Ireland

Microsoft is defying the authority of New York federal prosecutors in a case that could have far-reaching confidentiality implications of the information stored by large companies on their servers.

This would be the first time that a company has stood up to the government and denied access to data from a national company, stored on a server abroad(Ireland). And it is that this is the reason for the conflict, since Microsoft considers that they do not have the necessary authority to intervene in another country.

For now, this case has raised concern among large technology companies in the United States. They are being pressured by foreign governments that are no longer clear that the information of their citizens will be duly protected under American companies.

Political or legal decision?

It all started in December 2013, when a federal judge in New York issued a search warrant to obtain emails allegedly related to a Criminal case. The identity of the suspect is unknown, but it is believed that he used Microsoft's Outlook.com service

Redmonds opposed the court order, claiming that these emails are stored on servers in Dublin, Ireland; and that are beyond an internal search warrant.

In fact, legal experts consulted by the New York Times say that it is very rare to see a search warrant in order to seek information abroad.However, Microsoft lost this initial battle, and this week begins its push for change in the Federal District Court for the District of New York.

But it seems that this process will take a long time, since while the prosecutors accuse Microsoft's argument as simple and misleading, those of Redmond maintains that the same rules that apply to a search warrant in the physical world should apply on the Internet.

Privacy experts fear that if Microsoft is finally forced to comply with this court order, it could mean opening the door to investigations by anyone , anywhere in the world, via the Internet.

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For its part, the United States Department of Justice declares that Microsoft is stretching the law. Preet Bharara, Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Describes the analogy used by Microsoft as flawed and believes that Internet companies cannot circumvent compliance with an order registration simply by storing data abroad."

"The Department of Justice fears, unlike privacy experts, that if Microsoft wins it could pose a dangerous impediment to law enforcement&39;s ability to gather evidence of criminal activity . "

Via | New York Times