Free Speech -- 2021



Microsoft Corp. v. United States   (2nd Circuit)

Government access to private email

The NAM filed an amicus brief in the Second Circuit in support of Microsoft's appeal of a district court decision allowing the government to invoke the Stored Communications Act (SCA) to obtain Microsoft's customer’s confidential data stored "in the cloud." Under the SCA, the government is not required to give a customer prior notice that the government is seeking to force a third-party service provider, like Microsoft, to disclose the customer’s data in connection with a law enforcement investigation. And the SCA authorizes—and the government frequently obtains—ex parte gag orders forbidding the third-party provider from notifying its customers of the government’s demand. The NAM’s brief argued that the government's actions violate the First and Fourth Amendments to the Constitution and that the benefits of cloud computing will be jeopardized if private information receives diminished legal protections. On May 14, 2021, the Second Circuit vacated the district court's order after the challenged nondisclosure order expired, rendering the case moot.


Related Documents:
NAM brief  (December 21, 2020)

 


International -- 2016



Microsoft Corp. v. United States   (2nd Circuit)

Search warrant issued under the Stored Communications Act

The NAM filed an amicus brief in support of Microsoft’s challenge to the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) request to gain access to digital personal information stored on a server in Ireland using the Stored Communications Act, rather than the proper legal channels. This is an appeal to a lower court decision that held that the government can use a search warrant, issued under the Stored Communications Act, to gain access to digital information within the control of a U.S. based internet service provider but stored on a foreign server. If upheld, this decision would have had a chilling effect on the ability of U.S. companies to compete internationally. The NAM’s brief argued that the government’s position would significantly deter the use of remote data management technologies by businesses and individuals and that there is no legal basis for the government’s request. The court held that the Stored Communications Act does not authorize courts to enforce the warrant.


Related Documents:
NAM brief  (December 15, 2014)