Microsoft Wins Fight Against Government Searches of Private Emails
The Microsoft Corporation has reportedly won a legal battle against the United States government over the right to tell users when the government is searching through their private emails.
Microsoft sued the government last year after discovering that the government was routinely using gag orders to investigate emails without notifying Microsoft customers.
The government's use of gag orders was based on an interpretation of the 1986 Electronic Communication Privacy Act, which extended federal phone tapping laws to computers. However, Micorsoft claims the government abused that law.
"Our lawsuit was based on a growing and disturbing trend. We highlighted the fact that the government appeared to be overusing secrecy orders in a routine fashion—even where the specific facts didn't support them—and were seeking indefinite secrecy orders in a large number of cases," Microsoft legal chief Brad Smith wrote in a blog post Monday.
"We understand there are instances in which the government might need a secrecy order for legitimate reasons. This could include situations where disclosing the government's request for data could create a risk of harm to an individual. It could also include cases where disclosure would thwart the government's investigation, or lead to the destruction of evidence," he wrote.
According to Fortune.com, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein issued a memo to Department of Justice attorneys last week saying gag orders should only be issued during a search when there is a real "need for protection from disclosure."
