Microsoft Sues U.S. Government Over Secret Data Request Permissions

[engine]

Microsoft has filed a lawsuit in a U.S. court over the right to inform individuals and businesses if the U.S. government wants to access to their e-mails or records. The key point that Microsoft is making is that the requests are currently to be secret, and this is what Microsoft is challenging in a court of law.

This morning we filed a new lawsuit in federal court against the United States government to stand up for what we believe are our customers’ constitutional and fundamental rights – rights that help protect privacy and promote free expression. This is not a decision we made lightly, and hence we wanted to share information on this step and why we are taking it. Microsoft Sues U.S. Government Over Data Request Permissions [blogs.microsoft.com]

We believe that with rare exceptions consumers and businesses have a right to know when the government accesses their emails or records. Yet it’s becoming routine for the U.S. government to issue orders that require email providers to keep these types of legal demands secret. We believe that this goes too far and we are asking the courts to address the situation.

Ultimately, we view this case as similar to the other three that we have filed. It involves the fundamental right of people and businesses to know when the government is accessing their content and our right to share this information with them.

[edited by: engine at 7:57 pm (utc) on Apr 14, 2016]

[tangor]

One can only hope that commonsense results from this. Secret governmental action has been the bane of human history since Ug and Ughette sat around the campfire with their little Uglies.

[bill]

It's surprising that news like this doesn't have the effect of more people (corporations) looking for alternative solutions for their communications and data storage.

[tangor]

Communications ... where? How?

Anything new, and we can use, would require new global infrastructure and THAT would still come under attack by government snoops as well.

What we do need is privacy and security safeguards. The private sector builds what we want (ie, pgp, etc.) and the government and legal beagles come after every attempt in that regard.

Unfortunately, just saying no to such intrusions from the government/law enforcement is likely to destroy a person, business, even countries.

[incrediBILL]

While secret snooping is pretty vile, if the bad guys know you're on to them then they can just monitor the legal requests and switch where they communicate when they know they've been caught. I can see both sides of this argument and I would say that if it's under Homeland tracking valid terror threats, it should be quiet, but it it's FBI or police it shouldn't.

FYI, if you want real privacy and security either
a) use your own server in your closet and hope they don't hack in
b) use services in foreign countries outside of their jurisdiction

Don't forget, however secure YOU are, the recipient can still be accessed if they are using communication systems the gubment can access.

[Lugh]

As Tangor said, secret police have rarely served mankind well through history, and frequently been worse than any terrorist organization. Eg the USSR-installed Stasi in E. Germany, the US-installed stooges in Iran & Chile. It's a long list.

I don't object to secret access to bad guys' comms, but I do object to other bad guys having a free hand to do this without oversight we can trust. Snowdon showed us just how bad our own bad guys are without independent trustworthy oversight.

[henry0]

I would like to know if this is contained to only USA or if it is a latent worldwide problem?

[keyplyr]

There will always be a conflict between privacy & security. In today's interest toward gov't transparency, it becomes mainstream headlines and the tech companies must make a public stand.

[tangor]

I would like to know if this is contained to only USA or if it is a latent worldwide problem?

Without meaning insult to anyone: Where the USA goes the world soon follows ... in one way or another. That said, what is being asked now of the USA is something more akin to earlier times/regimes and under the color of expediency that is contrary to USA founding beliefs.

Many are not fans of Microsoft .. but in this case I personally stand with them.

[Lugh]

I would like to know if this is contained to only USA or if it is a latent worldwide problem?

Sad to say that US and UK are two of the world's more transparent countries, ranked 16th and 10th respectively by Transparency International. The inference is that official covert interference is more pronounced in most of the world, and we usually won't hear about it.