Microsoft Fights Government Demand for Customer Data Stored Outside US

Microsoft is opposing a US government demand for a user’s emails stored on company computers outside the country, in the latest example of tech companies’ willingness to challenge government information requests in the post-Snowden era.

Microsoft in a court filing dated June 6 said it opposed a search warrant for information on a user’s online emails stored in Microsoft’s Ireland data center.

“Congress has not authorized the issuance of warrants that reach outside US territory,” Microsoft wrote in the filing with US District Court in Manhattan.

Some legal experts said as a US company, Microsoft would have to comply with US court orders for emails or other customer information, whether data was stored in Seattle or Dubai. But Microsoft seems willing to test the patchwork of international laws on control of computerized information.