State not blocking US court’s Microsoft data bid

The Government has no issue with the US court at the centre of the ongoing Microsoft data protection case attempting to access data stored on Irish servers as long as it is done through the proper channels.

In December, the Government filed an amicus brief — or friend of the court document — outlining its position in the case which hinges on the US attempts to access data stored on Microsoft’s Dublin servers which authorities are seeking in relation to a criminal case.

The brief read in part: “Ireland does not accept any implication that it is required to intervene into foreign court proceedings to protect its sovereignty”.

Data protection minister Dara Murphy said neither he nor his government colleagues had any issue with the court’s attempts to access the data but insisted he would prefer that they did so through the existing Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty between the US and Ireland.

“We are not seeking to prevent access to the data at all. We are seeking that they [the US authorities] would use the process that has been pre-agreed... it is not about the access to the data, it’s about how the data is accessed.

“It is perfectly reasonable for a legal or a judicial system in the context of a court case, with the protection of a court, to request another country to provide data that it needs in a court case — that isn’t the issue, it’s just the process of how it requests,” Mr Murphy said.

Microsoft has chosen to be in contempt of court while it challenges the New York court’s order that the data be handed over, with the matter looking increasingly likely to be resolved in the US Supreme Court.

The minister also said that should a request be made through the existing framework, he had assurance from senior figures within the Department of Justice that the request would be expedited for consideration.

In November, the government requested that the European Commission check whether or not EU data protection laws would be contravened if US authorities were to seize the Dublin-held data - an issue the Commission is yet to take a position on and which is still under consideration, Mr Murphy said.

A number of other countries are known to have reservations about the potential implications of what is viewed by many as a test case in the realm of data protection with some EU member states such as Finland having written to the Commission on the matter.

Mr Murphy previously expressed concern over the ramifications of the case for Ireland and Europe, which could cast doubt over US firms’ ability to guarantee protection of customer data.