American Judge Claims Jurisdiction Over Data Stored In Other Countries 226
New submitter sim2com writes: "An American judge has just added another reason why foreign (non-American) companies should avoid using American Internet service companies. The judge ruled that search warrants for customer email and other content must be turned over, even when that data is stored on servers in other countries. The ruling came out of a case in which U.S. law enforcement was demanding data from Microsoft's servers in Dublin, Ireland. Microsoft fought back, saying, 'A U.S. prosecutor cannot obtain a U.S. warrant to search someone's home located in another country, just as another country's prosecutor cannot obtain a court order in her home country to conduct a search in the United States. We think the same rules should apply in the online world, but the government disagrees.'
If this ruling stands, foreign governments will not be happy about having their legal jurisdiction trespassed by American courts that force American companies to turn over customers' data stored in their countries. The question is: who does have legal jurisdiction on data stored in a given country? The courts of that country, or the courts of the nationality of the company who manages the data storage? This is a matter that has to be decided by International treaties. While we're at it, let's try to establish an International cyber law enforcement system. In the meantime."
If this ruling stands, foreign governments will not be happy about having their legal jurisdiction trespassed by American courts that force American companies to turn over customers' data stored in their countries. The question is: who does have legal jurisdiction on data stored in a given country? The courts of that country, or the courts of the nationality of the company who manages the data storage? This is a matter that has to be decided by International treaties. While we're at it, let's try to establish an International cyber law enforcement system. In the meantime."
And Denmark just sold its digital IDs to USA... (Score:5, Interesting)
Denmark recently sold its digital infrastructure (digital identities, national bank payments, etc) to a US company. The Danish government said there was nothing to worry about, because the servers would still be in Denmark. Thank you, USA, for proving the Danish government wrong.
Re:American company (Score:3, Interesting)
What if I encrypted a block of my data, broke those blocks up, then stored separate (non-duplicate) pieces in every country in the world? Would a court need to get every country's permission to assemble the data? Is the data an entity that has to be pursued independently of the owner (me)? Or as the owner, can my citizenship country (or a country that is pursuing me) instead demand all pieces based on me as the owner?
To summarize: Is my data legally independent from me?
Re:American company (Score:5, Interesting)
I think the fact that it's an American company being ordered to produce the data factors in here. The judge does have jurisdiction over the company, which makes it a different situation from ordering a company in another country to turn over data stored there. If you want to get out of a country's legal jurisdiction, you need to be out of their jurisdiction.
What is an "American" company? MS Europe is incorporated in Ireland, has a datacentre in Ireland, and pays taxes in Ireland. The FBI should be approaching the Irish authorities for access to this data.
Or look at it another way: Is Sony USA an American company, or a Japanese company? If it's a Japanese company, that means that the Japanese have the right to all data stored on Sony USA servers.
Or let's take this further: let's say the government of China had reason to believe that Cisco China had an NSA backdoor in its products as they were being deployed in China, and so ordered Cisco USA to turn over all emails, technical specifications and documentation.
Rinse and repeat with pretty much any middle east country and Haliburton.
This is a dangerous precedent for the US to set, as their only possible responses to foreign country's requests for similar information would be either "sure, here it is" or "sorry, we have a bigger army. Don't mess with us." Land of the Free much?