US Supreme Court opens case between Microsoft and Department of Justice over Irish data grab

A final verdict is expected by the summer

The US Supreme Court has turned its attention to the dispute between Microsoft and the Department of Justice (DoJ) over privacy rights.

Nine judges are set to hear arguments today from both parties over the DoJ's attempts to force Microsoft to hand over personal data held on servers in Ireland.

Microsoft argues that the DoJ is acting beyond its legal jurisdiction and should address its request to authorities in Ireland. The DoJ, meanwhile, argues that Microsoft, as a company operating in the US, has a legal obligation to respond to requests from US law enforcement, regardless of where the data is held.

Microsoft has been at loggerheads with the DoJ since 2013, when law enforcement officials issued the firm with a warrant to hand over emails, held on servers in Ireland, related to a drug trafficking investigation.

While the DoJ won the first round, in 2016 a New York appeals court sided with Microsoft, declaring that prosecutors cannot simply compel companies to hand over customer data. The court argued that the search warrant was not consistent with the Stored Communications Act.

The DoJ appealed and now the case has been brought before the US Supreme Court.

With more than 100 data centres across the world, Microsoft often has to deal with data-access requests from law enforcement agencies - both in the US and overseas. But it is the first major technology company to oppose such a warrant in the courts.

Nevertheless, Apple, IBM, Google, Verizon and Amazon have all come out in Microsoft's support - each have their own online services and burgeoning cloud computing businesses to defend.

The Supreme Court is expected to come to a final ruling by the end of June, with 35 states supporting the DoJ's case against Microsoft.

Brad Smith, chief legal officer of Microsoft, argued that US authorities should consider global laws when issuing search warrants to get access to customer data.

Speaking to NBC News he said: "We believe that people's privacy rights should be protected by the laws of their own countries.

"And we believe that information stored in the cloud should have the same protections as paper stored in your desk."