In what is being called a huge decision for privacy, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals weighed in on a protracted legal battle between Microsoft and the U.S. government around access to emails stored by Microsoft on a server in Ireland. In its decision, the court reversed a ruling that said the company must hand over the emails. Though the government will likely issue a challenge, bringing it to the U.S. Supreme Court, the court’s “decision in Microsoft v. USA is a striking, resounding victory for information privacy over the constant threat of government access and overreach,” writes IAPP VP of Education and Research Omer Tene. Yet, could the outcome ultimately be a loss for privacy? In this post for Privacy Perspectives, Tene weighs in on this important question as well as the details of this historic case.
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