Microsoft ordered to produce overseas customer email addresses by US judge

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jul/31/microsoft-must-handover-overseas-emails-judge


Microsoft Corp must turn over a customer’s emails stored in a data center in Ireland to the US government, a US judge ruled on Thursday in a case that has drawn concern from privacy groups and major technology companies.


Microsoft and other US companies had challenged a criminal search warrant for the emails, arguing federal prosecutors cannot seize customer information held in foreign countries.


But following a two-hour court hearing in New York, US District Judge Loretta Preska said the warrant lawfully required the company to hand over any data it controlled, regardless of where it was stored.


“It is a question of control, not a question of the location of that information,” Preska said.