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Microsoft gets allies in call to end US warrants for overseas data

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We recently wrote about Apple’s shady Irish tax practices, and that the US government was looking into the risky business.

Well Apple isn’t the only company that is saving a boatload of tax money by bringing business into Ireland, and it looks like other corporations are asking the US to stop issuing warrants to investigate their overseas operations. The company leading the charge? Microsoft.

The Seattle-based tech giant has some pretty strong backers in their plea to the US government: Apple, Verizon, AT&T, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Cisco.

Initially, Microsoft had lost its suit against the government to end their business snooping practices, but the company refiled and brought along some comrades for additional commentary to help strengthen its case.

Microsoft’s argument is that its non-US subsidiaries shouldn’t fall under the jurisdiction of US warrants. So when the government called to have access to Microsoft’s data in Ireland, Big M thought that they shouldn’t have to fork over their information.

It isn’t surprising that other companies are joining Microsoft’s case, seeing as they all have offices either in Ireland or overseas. Also, customers from other countries may not want their data to be accessible to the US government, and if companies like Microsoft and Apple can’t promise that, then it is likely their customers will take their business elsewhere.

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