The case, which dates back to 2013, involves a US warrant ordering Microsoft to turn over the contents of an email account used by a suspected drug trafficker, whose data is stored in a cloud computing center in Ireland. It has been watched closely because of its implications for privacy and surveillance in the digital age, and specifically how law enforcement can reach across borders to obtain digital evidence that may be scattered across the globe. Microsoft has maintained that US courts lack jurisdiction over the data stored in Ireland. The measure "would give unlimited jurisdiction to US law enforcement over any data controlled by a service provider, regardless of where the data is stored and who created it," said Camille Fischer of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. It also "creates a dangerous precedent for other countries who may want to access information stored outside their own borders, including data stored in the United States," she said.

Source: The Nation Bangkok February 26, 2018 02:03 UTC