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.