Tech Musing 3: Microsoft sues U.S. government over data requests

The argument about government surveillance has raged on since Edward Snowden infamously leaked sensitive NSA documents back in 2013. Regardless of any one’s personal opinion about whether he is a criminal or hero, he has raised important questions about government control and what our privacy means to us. Only now have big businesses decided to step in and make their voices heard.

Early this week Microsoft filed a lawsuit against the U.S government for forcing “gag orders” upon their company. These gag orders forced Microsoft to hand over any information they had to the NSA if ordered to, and forcing them to keep it quiet under penalty of law. They argue that the government’s actions have violated the 4^th amendment right by illegal seizing and searching emails and other documents, which both businesses and U.S. Citizens have the right to contest. Furthermore, they argue that the company’s first amendment right of free speech is also being violated by not letting Microsoft tell their customers if the government is looking through their emails. Microsoft argued that “People do not give up their rights when they move their private information from physical storage to the cloud” (reuters).

This is big step towards limiting government power, and to a further extent the over-reaching arms of the ironically named Patriot Act. People spoke out against the NSA when the Snowden released classified documents that enclosed the abhorrent amount of power the NSA had, but many were quick to dismiss Snowden for the way in which he did it. This was a great first step, but having large companies like Microsoft and Apple (back door access for Iphones incident) file multimillion dollar lawsuits against the government has really sent out a message. Their voices are much louder than your average Joe, and this can’t be seen as anything other than step in the right direction.

As you may have already guessed, I am not a fan of this new era of government spying. The dismissive mentality of “I don’t have anything to hide” is a dangerous one, and people just don’t know how much they have to lose. If someone higher up in the government is not a fan of what I am doing, then they can dig through everything in your past to discredit you, and make you look foolish. This is a better known as the “chilling effect”, which means that you are inhibited from practicing your legal rights due to the threat of legal action. With words as vague as “terrorist” being thrown around , it’s extremely easy to falsify a story about someone based something as simple as a link you looked at on Reddit once. It’s a way for the government to fuel politicians that they want while “leaking” information such as this to the public the discredit anyone they don’t agree with. It’s extremely dangerous to have the power, and that’s why I am excited the companies like Microsoft are finally standing up for what is right, and making our voices heard.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-microsoft-privacy-idUSKCN0XB22U