Microsoft wins case over handing over emails stored in EU to US

Microsoft does not have to hand over emails stored at its data centers in Ireland to a US court. The appeals court ruled that on Thursday. A US court cannot compel US companies to provide data stored abroad.

Thursday’s ruling by the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit means that a previous District Court ruling will be reversed. The safeguards of the Stored Communications Act or SCA to protect the privacy rights of citizens are not intended to apply beyond national borders, the appeal court concludes.

“Consistently, the SCA does not grant a U.S. court the jurisdiction to issue an injunction against a provider in the U.S. for the content of a customer’s communications stored on servers outside the United States,” the Court of Appeals said in its ruling. .

The court took the position that it does not matter where requested data is stored: as long as Microsoft has it under control, according to the judge they must be transferred if a court order is issued. That claim was dismissed by the appeals court.

The case began in 2014 and Microsoft vigorously defended itself against the injunction to hand over European customer emails stored in data centers in Ireland. Several tech companies sided with Microsoft, including Apple, Amazon, HP and eBay.