US Judge rules search warrants extend to overseas email accounts

Tuesday, 29 April 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Internet service providers must turn over customer emails and other digital content sought by U.S. government search warrants even when the information is stored overseas, a federal judge ruled on Friday. In what appears to be the first court decision addressing the issue, U.S. Magistrate Judge James Francis in New York said Internet service providers such as Microsoft Corp or Google Inc cannot refuse to turn over customer information and emails stored in other countries when issued a valid search warrant from U.S. law enforcement agencies.

If U.S. agencies were required to coordinate efforts with foreign governments to secure such information, Francis said, “the burden on the government would be substantial, and law enforcement efforts would be seriously impeded.” The ruling underscores the debate over privacy and technology that has intensified since the disclosures by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden about secret U.S. government efforts to collect huge amounts of consumer data around the world. “It showcases an increasing trend that data can be anywhere,” said Orin Kerr, a law professor at George Washington University who studies computer crime law. The decision addressed a search warrant served on Microsoft for one of its customers whose emails are stored on a server in Dublin, Ireland. In a statement, Microsoft said it challenged the warrant because the U.S. government should not be able to search the content of email held overseas. “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,” the company said. “We think the same rules should apply in the online world, but the government disagrees.” The company plans to seek review of Francis’ decision from a federal district judge.