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Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith believes that the US Government's demands for email stored overseas is unconstitutional
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Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith believes that the US Government's demands for email stored overseas is unconstitutional
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Smith has emerged as one of the technology industry's loudest voices for reform and greater openness.
Now he is spearheading Microsoft's fight against US government demands for access to emails from a Microsoft customer which are currently sitting on a server in Dublin, Ireland, as part of a narcotics investigation. Earlier this year, a US court ruled that Microsoft should hand the data over. Microsoft declined to comply, voluntarily entering into contempt.
Last week Microsoft filed its appeal: "The power to embark on unilateral law enforcement incursions into a foreign sovereign country - directly or indirectly - has profound foreign policy consequences. Worse still, it threatens the privacy of US citizens," the company said in court documents.
If Microsoft loses, Smith argues it could put all of our private digital information at risk as well as further damaging the standing and reputation of US tech firms still reeling from the NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden's leaks.