Microsoft sues U.S. government over user data requests

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(Image credit: Stephen Lam/Getty Images)

Microsoft filed suit against the U.S. Justice Department Thursday, alleging that laws that prevent the company from telling its customers when their data — specifically their email — is being accessed by the federal government are unconstitutional. The suit, which was filed in the company's home city of Seattle, is the latest legal battle between the U.S. government and a tech company; the FBI recently withdrew its well-publicized case against Apple to unlock the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone, though both parties are still set to testify to the House on encryption.

Microsoft's case has to do with the government's surveillance of customers' data in the cloud. The company claims the government "has exploited the transition to cloud computing as a means of expanding its power to conduct secret investigations."

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Samantha Rollins

Samantha Rollins is TheWeek.com's news editor. She has previously worked for The New York Times and TIME and is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.