In July 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit gave Microsoft and privacy advocates reason to rejoice. In Microsoft Corp. v. United States, the court overturned a lower court ruling, approving Microsoft’s motion to quash search warrants served to them under the Stored Communications Act (SCA) by the U.S. government.
Issued as a part of a law enforcement investigation, the SCA warrants sought user data Microsoft stored in servers in Ireland. The Second Circuit ruled, however, that SCA warrants do not apply outside the U.S., regardless of the nationality of the subject of the warrant.
