Microsoft lawsuit against government relies on speech, privacy rights

Imposed silence: Federal courts have issued nearly 2,600 secrecy orders keeping Microsoft from speaking about warrants.

SAN FRANCISCO: When the US Department of Justice sought permission to search a Microsoft Hotmail account in 2014, a judge rejected one condition the agency asked for – an order preventing Microsoft from ever telling its customer about the search.

Microsoft was not asked to submit its views in the case, nor did it attempt to do so. On Thursday, however, Microsoft cited the Hotmail ruling as a key precedent in a lawsuit the company filed against the government challenging indefinite gag orders when the government subpoenas information from a customer account.