LinkedIn fights for the right to tell customers when the feds want their data
Microsoft's chief legal officer argues federal subpoenas for LinkedIn user data should carry narrower scope and that secrecy orders must become the exception.
Microsoft chief legal officer Jon Palmer said federal courts and Congress must curb overly broad US government subpoenas for LinkedIn user data that arrive with secrecy orders preventing customer notification. The company is asking courts to enforce meaningful limits on demand scope and secrecy, invoking Fourth and First Amendment arguments. Palmer cited House legislation passed August 31 to rein in secret surveillance, while LinkedIn simultaneously faces user privacy lawsuits, one dismissed with leave to amend by Judge Vince Chhabria.
- Microsoft asks federal courts to enforce limits on government demand scope and secrecy orders.
- The House passed legislation on August 31 to strengthen notice protections for provider data requests.
- Palmer cites Fourth and First Amendment rights of users and service providers.
- LinkedIn faces parallel user privacy litigation; one case was dismissed with leave to amend.
- Commenters note tension between this stance and LinkedIn's own data practices.
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From the original article
4 min read at csoonline.com
Microsoft’s top lawyer argued Tuesday that legislators “must make secrecy [orders] the exception” in government subpoenas demanding information about LinkedIn users. LinkedIn, which is owned by Microsoft, is fighting what it calls overly broad subpoena demands from the US government, which sometimes come with secrecy orders that prevent LinkedIn from alerting customers whose information is being requested.
csoonline.com
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