Google case reignites data privacy controversy after contradictory ruling
A Philadelphia-based Judge has ordered Google to hand over emails stored in a non-US data centre to the FBI, despite an Appeals Court in New York striking down a similar case for Microsoft.
February 6, 2017
A Philadelphia-based Judge has ordered Google to hand over emails stored in a non-US data centre to the FBI, despite an Appeals Court in New York striking down a similar case for Microsoft.
The Department of Justice has found it difficult to battle Microsoft in the courts, however it has seemingly found more joy against Google, though the ruling will face an appeal over the coming weeks. US Magistrate Judge Thomas Rueter has decided that while the emails are currently being stored in a non-US data centre, as the whole saga occurred within US borders, the physical location of the data is irrelevant.
“Each account holder resides in the United States, the crimes they are suspected of committing occurred solely in the United States, and the electronic data at issue was exchanged between persons located in the United States,” the Department of Justice argued, which has seemingly hit a chord with Judge Rueter.
In the Microsoft case, the team successfully argued the influence of US intelligence agencies should stop at the border, irrelevant as to whether Microsoft is a US business or not. The Department of Justice believes Microsoft assets should fall under the jurisdiction of US legislation, irrelevant of the location of said assets. In this case, Microsoft successfully argued the Department of Justice should have petitioned the Irish Government for access to the emails, as the data was located in an Irish data centre.
Google has used this ruling to impose its own authority on the saga. The warrants presented to Google by the FBI are related to a narcotics investigation, compelling the tech giant to hand over a number of emails. Google responded by handing over all data which was physically residing in US data centres, but refused that which was held internationally. Where Microsoft managed to convince the judicial officials of the limitations of the US government, Google has not been as successful.