US Supreme Court dismisses Microsoft email privacy lawsuit

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Published onApril 17, 2018

published onApril 17, 2018

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For the past few years,Microsoft has been in a lengthy battlewith the US Government over emails held on an overseas server in Ireland from someone who wasbelieved to be part of the Silk Road. There have been manyhigh points and low pointsin the entire saga, but today the case is officially over. Indeed,Reuters is reportingthat the US Supreme court has dismissed Microsoft’s email privacy lawsuit.

The dismissal primarily comes because Congress passed the CLOUD Act a few weeks ago, which states that the US Government can only access data or use warrants on content stored foreign foresign serversif acting through mutual legal assitancebetween two countries involved in any disputes. This legislation was signed by US President Donald Trump on March 22 and made Microsoft’s case pointless, since the CLOUD act addressedmost privacy concerns Microsoft originally raised.

Microsoft President Brad Smith also issued the following statement today about the dismissal.

“We welcome the Supreme Court’s ruling ending our case in light of the CLOUD Act being signed into to law. Our goal has always been a new law and international agreements with strong privacy protections that govern how law enforcement gathers digital evidence across borders. As the governments of the UK and Australia have recognized, the CLOUD Act encourages these types of agreements, and we urge the US government to move quickly to negotiate them.”

The final decision in the casecan be read herein full detail.

Update: We’ve updated this article with a statement from Microsoft President Brad Smith.

Radu Tyrsina

Radu Tyrsina has been a Windows fan ever since he got his first PC, a Pentium III (a monster at that time).

For most of the kids of his age, the Internet was an amazing way to play and communicate with others, but he was deeply impressed by the flow of information and how easily you can find anything on the web.

Prior to founding Windows Report, this particular curiosity about digital content enabled him to grow a number of sites that helped hundreds of millions reach faster the answer they’re looking for.

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