Microsoft snubs court order, says it will not release customer email to authorities

13. engineer-1701d (unregistered)

Microsoft should be like ahh no u try again I delete your life from computers that I control around the world and u r no longer a judge lol

7. Droid_X_Doug (Posts: 5993; Member since: 22 Dec 2010)

The only reason for MS defying the court order is that if they give up the data, they can kiss their EU business goodbye. Behind the scenes, MS is furiously lobbying to have the subpoena voided.

9. 0xFFFF (Posts: 3806; Member since: 16 Apr 2014)

I agree that Microsoft is worried, but I think the business damage worries are exaggerated. Certainly, there will be some blowback, but realistically any business with data in the cloud in any country should know their data is completely insecure.

20. Droid_X_Doug (Posts: 5993; Member since: 22 Dec 2010)

MS is trying to sell cloud security to EU clients. The servers were physically located in Ireland as part of the security pitch. Turning over data stored on servers physically located in Ireland would vitiate the notion of the MS cloud being secure from Uncle Samuel. Right after they turned over the data, MS would be shutting down their international cloud business for lack of security.

Further, any EU business that remained on the MS cloud after MS were to turn over data from servers based in Ireland would probably be found to be in violation of EU privacy regulations.

11. muhsen (Posts: 281; Member since: 07 Jun 2012)

kiss their EU business goodbye ???? some comments here amaze me...... MS is actually controlling the whole Enterprise world including Goverment businesses in EU (ehm...that's why every single EU country in the top EU5 came crawling paying billions of local currency for more Win XP support until they upgrade to Win 7/8.1). Not making such move wouldn't make a dent in their EU business.
some people here are taking some companies as a religion and commenting according to what they believe not to real world material

12. muhsen (Posts: 281; Member since: 07 Jun 2012)

If it's indeed "pure corporate self-defense", why isn't every other tech company making such move??. MS situation applies to all other tech companies including big boys like Google, Apple, Yahoo. Facebook...etc, but MS is the only one defying court. Actually MS is the strongest among the pack ( making it the most one to not really care) thanks to controlling the enterprise and government business in EU and many other regions. No offence but ur theory is pretty much flawed.

16. 0xFFFF (Posts: 3806; Member since: 16 Apr 2014)

"why isn't every other tech company making such move??"

Because ONLY Microsoft is in this particular court case.

6. nlbates66 (Posts: 328; Member since: 15 Aug 2012)

Looks like you might need to do some searching to get your facts straight. :-)

8. 0xFFFF (Posts: 3806; Member since: 16 Apr 2014)

Are you referring to how Microsoft says one thing -- "we don't look through your email" -- then does another thing -- "we go through every message in the system, looking for leakers, child porn, law breakers, people with good IP to steal, etc."?

Microsoft is a zero integrity company. They talk up a storm about their moral superiority all the while they are stabbing you in the back.

10. muhsen (Posts: 281; Member since: 07 Jun 2012)

Well, every single company is "a zero integrity company", if u think otherwise, then there's no point arguing with u. Google is worse, defying every privacy right (their Gmaps cars have been proven collecting wifi data from routers, digging through ur gmail and spamming it with ads according to ur emails.......etc) and Apple is always in the FU mode (iPhone faults, iPad heat issues, the famous iphone antennagate....etc. PR BS or not, at least MS defied that court order making them the best of the worst, go ahead and deny that

14. joey_sfb (Posts: 6541; Member since: 29 Mar 2012)

"Every single company has zero integrity" yet Google is worse.

Show how bias you posting is. What you said above apply to all tech companies. I paid Microsoft and Apple money to use their OS and services and yet they till do what Google does which offer their services for free.

15. ihavenoname (Posts: 1693; Member since: 18 Aug 2013)

M$ best of the worst? Well, they at least succeeded to make you believe so.

18. 0xFFFF (Posts: 3806; Member since: 16 Apr 2014)

"M$ best of the worst? Well, they at least succeeded to make you believe so."

Monthly "reputation management" paychecks go a long way to establishing a veritable army of those who "believe" in Microsoft.

19. 0xFFFF (Posts: 3806; Member since: 16 Apr 2014)

"MS defied that court order making them the best of the worst"

Microsoft did nothing but promote their self-interest. Only a paid shill would think this is some sort of moral statement.

For the record, Microsoft has been spying on their customers, stealing from their customers, screwing over their customers, screwing over their partners, and selling customers out to the government for decades. Before Google even existed. So your "best of the worst" theory is nothing more than shill BS.

41. 13Elves (Posts: 93; Member since: 21 Feb 2014)

No, MSFT was hunting down a leak in their company and searched a man's Hotmail for the source of the leak w/o his permisson. They willfuly violated a users privacy for their own ends.

22. NokiaFTW (Posts: 2072; Member since: 24 Oct 2012)

Whatever MS does, you haters come up with some sh*t about them. Never mind, enjoy handing over your info to Scroogle, while they happily jock NSA.

23. Liveitup (Posts: 1798; Member since: 07 Jan 2014)

They're paid trolls, bashing MS regardless of what it does is a part of their job.

24. joey_sfb (Posts: 6541; Member since: 29 Mar 2012)

I can say the same about you. Liveitup.

26. Pattyface (Posts: 1646; Member since: 20 Aug 2014)

Does that make his statement any less true? Typical child trying to deflect what was said onto someone else

27. joey_sfb (Posts: 6541; Member since: 29 Mar 2012)

My point it's as valid as before. I pay Microsoft $299 for window 8 pro and yet they sell my private data to advertisers by the same standard as Google.

This is just being greedy. Child my ass, ok! You can be MS fan as much as you like. I avoiding to pay them as much as possible.

31. elitewolverine (Posts: 5192; Member since: 28 Oct 2013)

If you use windows 8, and dont use an email login, then no they dont.

You pay google to use android, you pay google to use a chromebook.

When you sign up for emails through ms, then you get ads sure, you are not paying 299 (which it is 139 now btw), to get ads (cause you dont). As well you can get premium outlook account through MS and never get ads in your email too.

Not to mention you get free support, live, chat or phone, remote desktop support too.

With your comment it makes people really question how much you understand between google and ms

36. 0xFFFF (Posts: 3806; Member since: 16 Apr 2014)

"If you use windows 8, and dont use an email login, then no they dont."

Not true. With Windows 8.1, all of Microsoft's tracking features are active whether or not you have a Microsoft account.

Same goes with Office 2013 and probably all Microsoft's products. In Office 2013, it will actually send your documents to Microsoft, violating every reasonable assumption of privacy and information security a person or corporation might have.

You like to say Microsoft is some morally superior corporation, but this is just laughable. This is a company that makes its existence stealing technology (as documented in Infoworld recently), being a patent troll (documented all over the web), funding attacks on open source (see the former Groklaw site), etc. One could go on and write books upon books about the misdeeds of Microsoft. In short, they are an evil, parasitical, monopoly that the world would be better off without.

38. joey_sfb (Posts: 6541; Member since: 29 Mar 2012)

Android/Chrome device will always be cheaper than their Windows counterpart as hardware manufacturer don't have to pay Google licenses for its use. But there will always be $100 or more overheard on Windows device as Microsoft continues to charge for licenses. So the consume still pay for x86 windows licenses.

I build my own DIY gaming desktop and I still need to pay $299 for their retail windows 8 pro license.

Microsoft are such hypocrite, and even the EU Commissioner said so when they are not happy with their findings. Microsoft complaint about Google on search advertising revenue. IMAGINE THAT! they want a cake and eat it too!. They happily took my money and still stab me in the back by selling my private data.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/10624447/EU-Commissioner-hits-back-at-Microsoft-over-Google-complaints.html