March 29, 2018
On February 27, 2018, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in United States v. Microsoft Corporation. The central issue in the case – which is now likely moot in light of the passage of the CLOUD Act last week – is whether a United States-based provider of email services must disclose, pursuant to a warrant issued under the Stored Communications Act (“SCA”), digital material stored on servers abroad. Beyond this issue, however, the oral argument in Microsoft also touched on a statutory ambiguity relating to data stored here in the United States, the resolution of which could have important implications for federal criminal investigations. […]