Microsoft Makes Apples out of Oranges

There is quite a bit of hoopla about the Microsoft Inc "win" in a case involving a U.S. Drug warrant issued for email kept on a server in Ireland.  The court ruled Microsoft did not have to to produce the data since it was not within the jurisdiction of the warrant.  The first ruling was in the Second Circuit Court in July 2016.  It said a warrant has limits and those limits do not go outside the United States and its territories, which was not news to anyone in law enforcement.
[ http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/79f10115-e24e-49b3-b72b-1df1e7e97911/4/doc/14-2985_complete_opn.pdf ].

However, Microsoft and it considerable number of allies in Silicon Valley went even further than the issue of warrants, as described by the Wall Street Journal today:

 "The case is part of a broader fight between Silicon Valley and Washington over how much authority the government has to force technology companies to help them gather data in investigations. The companies argued that revelations about U.S. spying with the help of telecom companies have heightened foreign sensitivities and placed U.S. firms at a competitive disadvantage abroad."  [ http://www.wsj.com/articles/microsoft-wins-appeals-ruling-on-data-searches-1468511551 ]

The collection of intelligence has nothing to do with law enforcement.  Microsoft et al have mixed the allegations of Edward Snowden into a matter that has nothing to do with the case at hand.  What they are really saying is they are not going to help the US government spy on anyone -  in the name of privacy.  This is a foot-in-the-door argument that will be cited to exclude the Intelligence Community, like Twitter did last year when it decided to stop selling data to the US IC.  These hypocrits have put a stake in the ground around a legal issue related to law enforcement when they really have a lofty position that puts them above the intelligence collection interests of their own government. It is a totally irrelevant argument because one has nothing to do with the other.  Intelligence Services do not get or need warrants.

What I don't like about this is the industry attitude that they don't have to cooperate if an intelligence service decides to collect data on their systems.  Vodaphone released a long list of countries and their rules on cooperating with Intellignece Services.  They were not being offered a choice in most countries.  Some wanted direct, unrestricted unencrypted access to anything that went into and out of their services.  Most wanted some access through portals controlled by the government.  All wanted some access.  China wasn't included in the Vodphone list,  but we already know what China wants, and so does Microsoft.  They want access to anything and everything and they want source code and encryption software that might keep them from getting it.  That is Microsoft's code and they are required to give it up.

This Holier Than Thou attitude is beyond business thinking almost everywhere I have been in US industry.  They are perfectly willing to cooperate with China, but they don't want to cooperate with their own government.  Their reasoning is that it might reduce their competitive position in the markets of the world.  Please....  Those other markets don't give a damn about our privacy in their countries.