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American Judge Claims Jurisdiction Over Data Stored In Other Countries

Posted by Soulskill on from the su-casa-es-mi-casa dept.

New submitter sim2com writes: "An American judge has just added another reason why foreign (non-American) companies should avoid using American Internet service companies. The judge ruled that search warrants for customer email and other content must be turned over, even when that data is stored on servers in other countries. The ruling came out of a case in which U.S. law enforcement was demanding data from Microsoft's servers in Dublin, Ireland. Microsoft fought back, saying, 'A U.S. prosecutor cannot obtain a U.S. warrant to search someone's home located in another country, just as another country's prosecutor cannot obtain a court order in her home country to conduct a search in the United States. We think the same rules should apply in the online world, but the government disagrees.'

If this ruling stands, foreign governments will not be happy about having their legal jurisdiction trespassed by American courts that force American companies to turn over customers' data stored in their countries. The question is: who does have legal jurisdiction on data stored in a given country? The courts of that country, or the courts of the nationality of the company who manages the data storage? This is a matter that has to be decided by International treaties. While we're at it, let's try to establish an International cyber law enforcement system. In the meantime."

4 of 226 comments (clear)

  1. American company by Todd+Knarr · · Score: 5, Informative

    I think the fact that it's an American company being ordered to produce the data factors in here. The judge does have jurisdiction over the company, which makes it a different situation from ordering a company in another country to turn over data stored there. If you want to get out of a country's legal jurisdiction, you need to be out of their jurisdiction.

    1. Re:American company by Em+Adespoton · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I think the fact that it's an American company being ordered to produce the data factors in here. The judge does have jurisdiction over the company, which makes it a different situation from ordering a company in another country to turn over data stored there. If you want to get out of a country's legal jurisdiction, you need to be out of their jurisdiction.

      What is an "American" company? MS Europe is incorporated in Ireland, has a datacentre in Ireland, and pays taxes in Ireland. The FBI should be approaching the Irish authorities for access to this data.

      Or look at it another way: Is Sony USA an American company, or a Japanese company? If it's a Japanese company, that means that the Japanese have the right to all data stored on Sony USA servers.

      Or let's take this further: let's say the government of China had reason to believe that Cisco China had an NSA backdoor in its products as they were being deployed in China, and so ordered Cisco USA to turn over all emails, technical specifications and documentation.

      Rinse and repeat with pretty much any middle east country and Haliburton.

      This is a dangerous precedent for the US to set, as their only possible responses to foreign country's requests for similar information would be either "sure, here it is" or "sorry, we have a bigger army. Don't mess with us." Land of the Free much?

    2. Re:American company by Frobnicator · · Score: 5, Informative

      I think the fact that it's an American company being ordered to produce the data factors in here.

      Close, but wrong.

      Being ordered to produce data is called a subpoena. That is the normal tool for producing emails and documents. A subpoena orders the company to find the documents meeting the criteria and produce them for the court.

      A search warrant allows LEOs to enter the building, search for everything themselves, and seize anything that might appear to satisfy the warrant. So they would enter the server room and immediately seize any computer that looks like it might have the email on it.

      The unnamed government agency got a warrant to seize a bunch of computers, and are acting under the guise that they are asking for specific information.

      It is completely the wrong tool. It would be nice to think it was a simple mistake, picking the wrong tool to get information. ... unless it is an agency looking to do far more than find some specific emails. Unfortunately it is probably the latter, given that everything is under seal and they are demanding to allow US federal agents into a non-US facility to seize servers.

      --
      //TODO: Think of witty sig statement
  2. And Denmark just sold its digital IDs to USA... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Denmark recently sold its digital infrastructure (digital identities, national bank payments, etc) to a US company. The Danish government said there was nothing to worry about, because the servers would still be in Denmark. Thank you, USA, for proving the Danish government wrong.