Microsoft Sues Feds, Challenging Gag Orders on Customer-Data Seizures
Microsoft sued the U.S. government Thursday, arguing that a law that can prohibit technology companies from telling customers when law enforcement comes looking for their data is unconstitutional, reports The Seattle Times.
This action is seen as the latest high-profile challenge to the reach of law enforcement into cyberspace, following Apple’s fight against an FBI order to disable an encryption measure on an iPhone connected to the San Bernardino mass shooting.
“When law-enforcement agencies get a warrant to grab email or other data stored online, they can request a court order to bar Internet service providers from informing the user their documents were seized,” the report says. “Microsoft said it has received about 5,600 federal demands for consumer data in the past 18 months, almost half accompanied by such gag orders.”
