Microsoft Challenges Warrant for Emails Stored in Ireland

Microsoft asked a federal appeals court on Wednesday to block the United States government from forcing the company to hand over a customer’s emails stored on a server in Ireland, warning that the precedent would create a “global free-for-all” that eviscerates personal privacy. The case is the first in which an American company has challenged a warrant seeking data held abroad. The appeal centers on a search warrant seeking the emails of an unidentified person in Dublin as part of a drug investigation. Nearly 100 organizations and individuals filed briefs in support of Microsoft’s position, including tech giants like Apple and media companies like McClatchy.