Major companies have been backing Microsoft lately, in its ongoing battle for privacy against the U.S. government.
Microsoft has been fighting for months now, against federal agencies trying to obtain user details without their knowledge or permission. Now, big name companies like Apple, Google, and Amazon have legally filed in support of Microsoft in court.
The Electronic Communications Privacy Act, or ECPA, allows the U.S. government pretty much do as it pleases regarding the collection of private data from internet users. The National Association o Manufacturers, Eli Lilly and Company, EFF, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Delta Airlines, Fox News, and Mozilla are just some of the names that have legally filed in support for Microsoft.
Friday marked when the companies filed as friends of Microsoft in the courts as non-participants. These companies all have the same thing in common; they all have strongly opposed to the ECPA.
Previously in April of this year, Microsoft filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government on claims that they were in breach of the Fourth Amendment rights of its users by gathering personal data stored on third party computers without notifying them.
Microsoft also said that they were going against their First Amendment rights which would let the company tell its users what the agencies were up to.
Information in Microsoft’s filing said that within an 18-month period, they had received over 2600 Federal orders to not tell its customers what they were doing. Microsoft also argues that the government is exploiting the now 30-year-old law.
The U.S. District Courts are still reviewing the case. Microsoft has high hopes of coming out on top when it’s all said and done. If they do, it will surely lead to better online security for everyone.
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