Tagged: Government Warrants

Second Circuit Reverses Lower Court Microsoft Decision and Holds That Email Evidence Stored Abroad Cannot Be Gathered Pursuant to Criminal Warrant Issued Under Stored Communications Act

In a prior post, we reported that Southern District of New York Magistrate Judge Francis determined that Microsoft must comply with a U.S. Government’s warrant seeking a user’s email content, even though the emails are stored in Microsoft’s datacenter in Dublin, Ireland. After the lower court declined to quash the subpoena and held Microsoft in contempt for failing to turn over customer content stored abroad, Microsoft appealed to the Second Circuit. On July 14, 2016 the appeals court issued an extensive opinion reversing the lower court’s ruling.

New York Court Rules Email Evidence Stored Abroad is Subject to Criminal Warrant Issued Under Stored Communications Act

Southern District of New York Magistrate Judge Francis has determined that Microsoft must comply with a U.S. Government’s warrant seeking a user’s email content even though the emails are stored in Microsoft’s datacenter in Dublin, Ireland. The decision is likely to get widespread attention and be the subject of future court review, as it expands the reach of a government criminal warrant beyond the borders of the United States to allow for the collection of evidence abroad.