Apple’s legal battle over encryption dominated headlines earlier this year, but another tech giant is fighting a quieter legal war over user privacy: Microsoft. It won a major victory last week, when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit sided with the company, ruling that a U.S. warrant could not be used to force Microsoft to turn over email data stored in an Irish data center. The decision, which the Justice Department is considering appealing to the Supreme Court, could have major implications for tech companies who routinely move data around the world so it can be backed up or quickly accessed by users.The Washington Post talked with Microsoft president and chief legal officer Brad Smith about the case and the company’s other privacy efforts. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/07/22/microsofts-president-explains-the-companys-quiet-legal-war-for-user-privacy/