14 DAY TRIAL // The legal action in which Microsoft is fighting the United States government over a decision that would force the company to provide access to data stored on overseas data centers is causing concern in the European Union, with the governing body on the Old Continent now planning to revise its privacy laws to protect Internet users.
As part of the legal dispute that’s taking place in the United States, the government is asking Microsoft to share user information that’s stored on overseas servers, while the company is claiming that a US search warrant should only be valid in the country.
Federal Judge Loretta Preska however decided late last month that Microsoft must hand over the data, but offered the company the possibility to appeal the ruling.
The European Union now claims that such a decision is worrying for Internet users on the Old Continent and is planning to extend its privacy laws for companies that are doing business in both Europe and the United States to make sure that such cases are avoided.
A spokesperson for the European Commission told eWeek that the United States government shouldn’t ask Microsoft directly for access to user information stored on European servers, but instead contact the public authorities as part of the agreements that are currently in place between the two organizations.
"The case is an example of the complex legal issues faced by companies operating on both sides of the Atlantic," the spokesperson was quoted as saying.
"The commission has raised this issue with the U.S. government on a number of occasions. The commission remains of the view that where governments need to request personal data held by private companies and located in the EU, requests should not be directly addressed to the companies but should proceed via agreed formal channels of cooperation between public authorities, such as the mutual legal assistance agreements."
As a result, the European Union is now working on a new set of laws that would thus protect data stored on the continent and despite rulings coming from the United States or any other non-European countries, authorities would need to approve the sharing of user data.
"The proposed reform of EU data protection rules will ensure that EU rules apply to all companies, even those not established in the EU, whenever they handle personal data of individuals in the EU. This principle has received strong backing, both from the European Parliament and member states," the spokesperson explained.