Microsoft Sues Justice Department Over Secret Data Searches
Microsoft ( MSFT ) has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Justice Department challenging the government’s authority to bar tech firms from telling customers when their personal data has been turned over to federal agents. Microsoft on Thursday called the Justice Department’s actions unconstitutional and wants to stop the government from forcing it to give customers’ email and other data to law enforcement agents without their knowledge. The Microsoft lawsuit is the latest legal clash between technology companies and the U.S. government over how much private businesses should assist government surveillance and law enforcement efforts. Apple ( AAPL ) has resisted government demands that it make software for authorities to unlock its customers’ encrypted iPhones. Last month, the Justice Department withdrew an order that Apple disable the security on an iPhone belonging to San Bernardino, Calif., shooter Syed Farook, saying that it found a third party to unlock the device. However, a law enforcement source told CBS News that investigators have found “nothing of real significance” so far on the terrorist’s iPhone. Federal law enforcement officials have at least a dozen other criminal investigations in which they are trying to get Apple to unlock iPhones. Meanwhile, Congress is getting involved, considering legislation that attempts to balance civil liberties vs. security. One bill, titled the “Compliance With Court Orders Act of 2016,” was written by Sens. Richard Burr, R-N.C., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. In its suit, Microsoft says that it has received 5,624 federal demands for customer information in the past 18 months. Nearly half of those demands (2,576) came with gag orders preventing the company from telling customers that the government was looking at their data. Also, 1,752 of those secrecy orders had no time limit, so it might never be able to tell customers that the government obtained their digital files. Microsoft: Standing Up For Fundamental Rights In a blog post Thursday , Microsoft President and Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith said that the company filed the suit “to stand up for what we believe are our customers’ constitutional and fundamental rights — rights that help protect privacy and promote free expression.” Microsoft believes consumers and businesses have a right to know when the government accesses their emails and records, except in rare cases, Smith said. “Yet it’s becoming routine for the U.S. government to issue orders that require email providers to keep these types of legal demands secret. We believe that this goes too far, and we are asking the courts to address the situation,” Smith said. The secrecy orders violate the Fourth Amendment, which gives people and businesses the right to know if the government searches or seizes their property, Smith said. The federal government is attempting to treat personal property differently in the cloud computing era, Smith said. With paper documents and electronic records stored in home and business computers, the government had to give notice to the owner when it sought a warrant to seize private information. But with email and digital documents stored on remote servers in data centers, government agents often want to keep their snooping secret. “The transition to the cloud does not alter people’s expectations of privacy and should not alter the fundamental constitutional requirement that the government must — with few exceptions — give notice when it searches and seizes private information or communications,” Smith said. The Justice Department could resolve the issue by adopting a new policy that sets reasonable limitations on the use of secrecy orders, he said. Another solution would be for Congress to amend the Electronic Communications Privacy Act to implement reasonable rules, Smith said. Image provided by Shutterstock .