Why Microsoft Is Fighting U.S. Over Emails in Ireland

Microsoft Corp. and the U.S. Justice Department will duke it out in front of the Supreme Court this week in a high-stakes case that could affect the online privacy of Americans. At issue is whether U.S. law enforcement officials conducting a criminal investigation can demand data held in other countries. A federal appeals court said no, it can’t. But both sides in the case agree that the law hasn’t kept up with modern technology.

We have no idea. What’s known about the data is that it relates to a narcotics-trafficking investigation that dates to 2013 and that it’s stored in a giant server farm in Ireland. A federal judge in New York issued a search warrant for the emails, and Microsoft elected to challenge the order in court.