Global Perspectives On High Court Microsoft Warrant Case

Microsoft Corp.'s heated dispute with the U.S. Department of Justice over data stored on its servers abroad has more parties weighing in, this time offering international perspectives. On Dec. 13, 2017, the governments of Ireland and the United Kingdom, the New Zealand privacy commissioner, the United Nations special rapporteur on the right to privacy, and the European Commission filed amicus briefs before the U.S. Supreme Court. The briefs underscore the important implications of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision for global data transfers and international users' privacy.

Background: Microsoft's Challenge to the Extraterritorial Application of the Government's Warrant

In Microsoft, a U.S. federal court issued a Stored Communications Act warrant requiring Microsoft to produce information stored on Microsoft's servers domestically and in Ireland. Microsoft moved to quash the warrant as to all material stored in Ireland on the ground that Section 2703 of the SCA