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By SecureWorld News Team
Tue | Feb 27, 2018 | 7:44 AM PST

Microsoft and the federal government are going toe to toe in the U.S. Supreme Court today. 

The case is at the intersection of data privacy vs. security, with the U.S. Supreme Court about to decide which has the most merit.

At issue: can U.S. investigators force tech companies to hand over data that is stored overseas?

The Reuters background sums up how we got here:

"The case began with a 2013 warrant obtained by prosecutors for emails of a suspect in a drug trafficking investigation that were stored in Microsoft computer servers in Dublin. The company challenged whether a domestic warrant covered data stored abroad. The Justice Department said because Microsoft is based in the United States, prosecutors were entitled to the data."

There is a lot riding on this decision, which is expected by the start of summer 2018.

If the court finds for the government, U.S. companies could lose business as their clients based outside the U.S. move data to companies also based outside the U.S.

That way, their data could remain a safer distance from the long arm of U.S. law enforcement. In other words, they will be looking for privacy where they believe it exists.

On the other hand, if investigators cannot access data on international criminals suspected of crimes against the U.S., regardless of where the information is stored, they believe security will suffer.

They will lose out on a crucial tap of information that can help close investigations and potentially save lives.

Now, here's a question: do you believe it is either possible or necessary to walk a balance between these two competing arguments?

Tags: Big Data, Privacy,
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