A federal appeals court has limited how far the government can go in quietly obtaining reporters' internet records, according to Microsoft, the parent company of LinkedIn. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued its decision on November 10. This report relies on Microsoft's own published description of the ruling. The company was a party to the case.
What the court decided
LinkedIn had contested two government orders. One sought online information belonging to journalists, and the other barred the company from alerting those reporters or their outlets to the request. Rather than throwing out the orders, the judges sent the matter back to the district court, Microsoft said. That court will weigh whether to shrink both the amount of information demanded and the gag on disclosure. Judge Harvie Wilkinson III wrote the opinion.
Why it matters, in Microsoft's view
Microsoft argued that reporters lean heavily on online services to find contacts, talk confidentially and gather material. Requests that sweep too widely, the company said, risk unmasking sources, including people unconnected to the probe. When users do not know about such requests, Microsoft said, the firms holding their data are the only ones able to resist excessive demands.
The company said it accepts the government's legitimate role in pursuing crime and national-security threats, and that the court found such inquiries must still respect legal limits, privacy and First Amendment rights. The opinion closes: “Serious security and speech claims are in tension in this case. There is space under law for both.”
Supporters and a push for new law
The American Civil Liberties Union and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press backed LinkedIn with friend-of-the-court filings, as did Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta and X, according to Microsoft.
Microsoft said court wins and policy changes are no replacement for lasting statutory safeguards. It urged Congress to revise the rules on nondisclosure orders so that secrecy stays limited, rests on specific circumstances and faces genuine oversight by judges. Brad Smith, its Vice Chair and President, has made similar calls for reform, the company noted.
