WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — US authorities do not have the right to simply demand that Microsoft hand over e-mail messages without going through the proper legal hurdles, former Watergate prosecutor Nick Akerman told Sputnik.
US Justice Department lawyers argued in federal court on Wednesday that the government had the right to demand "the emails of anyone in the world from any email provider headquartered within US borders," as part of an effort to compel Microsoft to hand over data from an e-mail server in Ireland, The
"They cannot just demand the e-mails," Akerman explained on Thursday. "There must be a valid grand jury subpoena."
Akerman, a Partner at Dorsey who specializes in technology law, argued that a subpoena provides companies like Microsoft an opportunity to counter the Justice Department’s demands.
"The subpoena gives the subpoenaed entity the right to go into court and move to quash the subpoena, all of which will be decided by a federal judge," he added.
In 2013, Microsoft refused to provide e-mails to the Justice Department from a suspected drug trafficker, arguing that US federal officials would need to get an Irish court order because the e-mail server was located in Dublin, The New York Times reported on Monday.
US technology giant Apple rejected Justice Department requests to turn over text messages related to a narcotics and gun trafficking investigation, the newspaper said.
