Written by Peter Swire and Justin Hemmings
On Friday morning, March 23, President Trump signed the $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill into law, including the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (CLOUD) Act, and in doing so established a sea change in the rules for cross-border government access to the contents of electronic communications. The CLOUD Act consists of three core components: (1) resolving the main issue in the Microsoft Ireland case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, (2) providing a process for entities to request a comity analysis for potential conflicts with non-U.S. legal obligations, and (3) removing legal barriers
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Written by Justin Hemmings
On Tuesday, February 27th, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in United States v. Microsoft Corp. on whether a warrant issued under the Stored Communications Act (SCA) can compel the production of data stored outside the United States. Where Microsoft argues that the emails stored outside the United States also lie outside the reach of the SCA, the government contends that the SCA focuses on “classically domestic content,” and that Microsoft can be compelled within the U.S. to turn over records it controls regardless of where the data sought is stored.
This case began in December
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Written by Michael Young
On July 31, Federal District Judge Loretta A. Preska (Southern District of New York) upheld the decision of a magistrate judge requiring Microsoft to turn over the contents of customer email stored in Ireland to U.S. investigators. The magistrate’s April decision was previously discussed on this blog.
Federal investigators had obtained a warrant for the email content under the federal Stored Communication Act (“SCA”). Microsoft sought to quash the warrant with respect to the production of customer emails stored on a server in Dublin, Ireland, arguing that the enforcement of the warrant
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Written by Michael Young
On April 25, a federal magistrate judge ruled that Microsoft must disclose to U.S. federal investigators the contents of a customer’s email account stored outside of the United States. Microsoft had previously complied with portions of a search warrant seeking certain other information related to the targeted email account, but the company moved to quash the warrant with respect to the production of customer emails stored in Dublin, Ireland. In a 26-page memorandum and order, Judge James C. Francis IV (Southern District of New York) rejected Microsoft’s arguments and held that the enforcement
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