WASHINGTON – January 18, 2018 – Today, BSA | The Software Alliance, along with other leading industry associations and public interest groups, filed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in favor of Microsoft in United States of America v. Microsoft Corporation. The brief argues that current laws do not authorize law enforcement warrants for accessing digital evidence stored outside the United States, and urges the Court to uphold the Second Circuit’s ruling. It notes that the Government’s position would subject US companies to conflicting legal obligations between sovereign nations; it could also open the door to other nations asserting the same right to access US citizens’ data. Instead, Congress should take legislative action, like the bipartisan International Communications Privacy Act introduced last year, to create a modern framework that provides clear and predictable rules on accessing data stored abroad.

In signing the amicus brief, BSA was joined by ACT | the App Association, Americans for Tax Reform, the Center for Democracy and Technology, the Entertainment Software Association, the FreedomWorks Foundation, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Taxpayers Union, New America’s Open Technology Initiative, the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, and the US Chamber of Commerce.