Microsoft’s rivals back bid to block access to Dublin servers

Microsoft's rivals and other US technology companies have supported the software giant in a legal bid to stop the US government obtaining customer information on computer servers in Ireland.

Apple, Verizon, Cisco, eBay and Salesforce, along with the US Chamber of Commerce and national business associations, have joined forces to back Microsoft's case before the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York to block access to the servers in Dublin.

The case stems from a New York court warrant into a drug trafficking investigation in 2013 in which Microsoft was turn over the contents of an msn.com email account.

The company contested the warrant arguing that the order was an international seizure of data beyond US government’s legal powers.

Appeals court

Echoing Microsoft’s arguments, the companies in filings submitted to the appeals court by Monday’s deadline challenged the government’s assertion that the warrant does not compel activity overseas because Microsoft doesn’t need to send staff to Ireland or direct its Irish employees to take action.

Apple argued that the lower court should have analysed the interests of the country where the entity is located, Ireland, rather than focusing solely on whether Microsoft could technically retrieve user data stored overseas from its US offices. The company has argued that access to the information requires a petition to an Irish District Court.

Verizon, Cisco and other companies argued that the lower court’s ruling will damage their businesses.