Microsoft events tracking US Government user email

The giant software company has filed a lawsuit against the US government for the right to get information to customers when the government monitored e-mail users.

Reuters said the complaint was sent on Thursday (14/4) at the court of Seattle. Microsoft said that the Government is violating the US Constitution, to prevent their information to thousands of customers on request of the authorities to monitor e-mail and user documentation.

The complaint alleges that the Government's action is against the 4th Amendment of the Constitution, which stipulates the right to know of citizens and organizations when government monitoring or confiscation of their property, along with it violates free speech rights of Microsoft under the 1st amendment.

The Ministry of Justice is considering a lawsuit, according to spokeswoman Emily Pierce.

Use the Privacy Act of electronic information (ECPA), the US administration has stepped up to direct business surveys data storage on the warehouse "cloud", according to Microsoft.

30-year-old law has long been noted by technology companies and those sensitive to security, given that it was written before the Internet era and therefore obsolete.

Microsoft said in the complaint, the authorities "have taken advantage of the change to open the secret investigation."

Reuters said that the lawsuit again calls into question whether private companies should support the monitoring of government be?

In a lawsuit, Microsoft has confirmed his position in the war. Previously, Apple expressed tough to unlock lawsuit revolves around the iPhone 5C.

"We stand aligned with Apple before, and hopefully, other companies will rise up with us this time," Legal Director Brad Smith said Microsoft in an interview by telephone.

Some security experts suspect the motivation and timing of Microsoft's litigation. The complaint "100% being driven business reasons" and timing to coincide with interested users tend to recent security after Apple's lawsuit, according to D.J. Rosenthal, former White House cybersecurity under Obama.

When Windows and other software products Microsoft is losing the advantage in favor of the mobile market and around the Internet, activities based on their cloud increasingly important. CEO Satya Nadella himself also described Microsoft's efforts is: "Priority mobile, cloud priority".

Customers constantly ask questions about the monitoring of the Government, according to Smith, a sign that the problem could be harmful to the success of cloud services from Microsoft.

In its complaint, Microsoft said that in the past 18 months they have received 5,624 requests based on ECPA, 2576 of which have orders not to allow Microsoft to disclose to clients. Most of the requests are for individual customers and no closing date.

Technology companies, including Microsoft, won the event two years ago, which permits disclosure and data requirements of the Government. The lawsuit goes further, requiring that they must not disclose any data requested by the Government.

US companies are under increasing pressure to protect user information. The campaign gained momentum by information leaks from Edward Snowden government in 2013, prompting the US government to strengthen monitoring individual devices to be true.