{"id":35614,"date":"2017-08-29T08:00:01","date_gmt":"2017-08-29T06:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/owncloud.com\/?p=35614\/"},"modified":"2017-08-29T08:00:01","modified_gmt":"2017-08-29T06:00:01","slug":"blog-update-google-microsoft-cases-know-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/owncloud.com\/de\/blogs\/blog-update-google-microsoft-cases-know-data\/","title":{"rendered":"Update: Google and Microsoft Cases: Know Where Your Data Is!"},"content":{"rendered":"

All the way back in February (where has the time gone?) I posted a blog, <\/em>Threats to your Data in the Trump Age<\/em><\/a>, where I outlined possible threats to your data, including a recent ruling against Google and a Microsoft case that was still in the court system.<\/p>\n

\"\"In early February \u201ca U.S. judge has ordered Google to hand over emails stored outside the\u00a0<\/a>coun<\/a>try in order to comply with an FBI search warrant<\/a>.\u201d \u00a0The main argument was that Google can\u2019t tell exactly where the data is, which means that it is considered to be in the United States and, therefore, needs to be handed over.<\/p>\n

This again shows how essential it is to know where your data is at all times!<\/p>\n

However, Microsoft knows that the data is in Ireland, so the\u00a0ruling was upheld<\/a>\u00a0by a very close 4-4 vote. \u00a0It is expected that the US government will make a move to bring the case to the supreme court where it can be reconsidered. Alternatively, there are rumors that the administration will just change the respective law and clarify that US companies are forced to hand over data even if they know it is located elsewhere.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This post will provide an update on these cases.<\/p>\n

Google\u2019s Ruling Upheld<\/h2>\n

\"\"Google has also been continuing to fight against handing over data stored on foreign servers. They have appealed their case, however the ruling remains the same. According to Daniel R. Stoller\u2019s article in Bloomberg BNA, Google Must Turn Over Data Stored Abroad Sought Under U.S. Warrant<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Judge Richard Seeborg of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California Aug. 14\u00a0upheld<\/a>\u00a0a magistrate judge\u2019s\u00a0order<\/a>\u00a0denying Google\u2019s motion to quash the warrant. Google must turn over all content that is \u201caccessible, searchable, and retrievable from the\u201d U.S. pursuant to the lawful warrant under the Stored Communications Act (SCA), Seeborg said. The SCA warrant, served on U.S.-based Google, was a \u201cdomestic application of the statute\u201d because the data is \u201ceasily and lawfully\u201d accessed and disclosed in the U.S., he said. Also, the \u201cconduct relevant\u201d to the warrant occurred in the U.S., he said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Microsoft\u2019s Case Drags On<\/h2>\n

\"\"Microsoft has been fighting the US Department of Justice since 2013 over access to emails stored in Ireland while a drug case investigation. Microsoft claimed that the Electronic Communications Privacy Act did not apply to data stored in foreign countries, however, the initially lost the case in the lower court system. Upon repealing their case in the Second Circuit, the ruling last July was in Microsoft\u2019s favor. But the Department of Justice fought on, petitioning the Supreme Court to hear the case.<\/p>\n

Kate Conger\u2019s article on Gizmodo, Justice Department Tries to Take Microsoft Email Warrant Fight to Supreme Court<\/a> states:<\/p>\n

If the Supreme Court agrees to hear the case, its decision will have wide-ranging affects on the way the tech industry stores user data and the way law enforcement accesses it, both in the US and abroad.<\/p>\n

But if the Supreme Court doesn\u2019t take the case, the appeals court ruling will stand, and the tech industry\u2019s lobbying effort to get Congress to change a 31-year-old law will accelerate.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Know Where Your Data Is<\/h2>\n

These current battles of who should have access to your data is a pure horror story! Now, more than ever, it remains essential to know where your data is. Also, remember the preparations for the new General Data Protection Regulation continues and will be finished in early 2018.\u00a0 You can be fined up to 4% of your annual revenue<\/a> under those new regulations.<\/p>\n

Federate the Cloud<\/h2>\n

With ownCloud, our users never need to worry about data-transfer restrictions. ownCloud can connect federated servers in multiple geographic locations into a single user experience for seamless collaboration. Federated File Sharing<\/a> provides frictionless file sharing across multiple ownCloud servers, while maintaining the security, control and attributes of the original server as set up by IT \u2013 and leaving the master file copy on the originating ownCloud server.<\/p>\n