Slashdot Mirror
Supreme Court Wrestles With Microsoft Data Privacy Fight (reuters.com)
Supreme Court justices on Tuesday wrestled with Microsoft's dispute with the U.S. Justice Department over whether prosecutors can force technology companies to hand over data stored overseas, with some signaling support for the government and others urging Congress to pass a law to resolve the issue. From a report: Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, both conservatives, hinted during an hour-long argument in the case at support for the Justice Department's stance that because Microsoft is based in the United States it was obligated to turn over data sought by prosecutors in a U.S. warrant. As the nine justices grappled with the technological complexities of email data storage, liberals Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor questioned whether the court needed to act in the data privacy case in light of Congress now considering bipartisan legislation that would resolve the legal issue. A ruling is due by the end of June.
If the US basically tries to assert that their laws trump the national laws in which these US companies operate, then those US companies will pretty much lose business.
The only logical conclusion would be that MS is now effectively an agent of the US government, and the use of their cloud stuff would be illegal in other countries or for certain kinds of data.
AND, this would be reciprocal, as MS would have no choice but to hand over data on US citizens to those local governments.
Don't give me the bullshit answer that it's OK for the US but not for anybody else, because we don't give a fuck.
So good luck when Iran wants to subpoena US records from MS. This is basically setting up a scenario in which the US wants their laws to be extraterritorial, in which case everyone else gets to do it.
Sorry, America, but you can't have it both ways.
Microsoft owns that data, thus it is Microsoft property, and since Microsoft is an american citizen, it must adhere to American laws.
Yes, but any American citizen in Europe must obey European laws. If you happen to be a holocaust denier and get arrested in Germany explaining about the US constitution's protections on free speech will get you nowhere.US companies have the choice not to go to Europe but, if they do, they must follow the law there. European law says that Microsoft cannot hand the data over to foreign (US) authorities. There is no law that the US Congress can pass that can relieve them of this responsibility and, if the US forces MS to hand over the data, it will make it close to impossible for US companies to do business in Europe since they will be unable to follow the law and so be liable for financial and possibly criminal penalties.
Imagine company A being created in North Korea. Imagine company B being a company owned and controlled by A incorporated in the US.
If company A is ordered to do something that is legal in NK should then company B comply even though it is illegal in the US?
Of course not, that is ridiculous.
Microsoft owns that data, thus it is Microsoft property, and since Microsoft is an american citizen, it must adhere to American laws.
It's not complicated.
No it is not complicated. American law does not apply outside American territory, period.
If an American company owned elephants in India, and Indian law said that exports of elephants was illegal, should an American judge be able to decide that they must ship their elephants to the US? Does not Indian law apply on Indian soil because it's an American company?
Until MS moves its headquarters to some tax haven that has strong laws about international interference in data. There are probably plenty of tax havens that would craft such a law in order to induce MS to move their HQ to that jurisdiction.
Whatever the outcome, the Justice Department are going to make doing business more difficult in the USA. This was and always will be an own goal by the Justice Department.
The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!