Microsoft’s 1st Amendment Claim Over DOJ’s Secrecy Orders Survives Dismissal

Mealey's (February 10, 2017, 1:46 PM EST) -- SEATTLE — Microsoft Corp. has sufficiently alleged that its rights under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution have been violated by U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) “secrecy orders” that forbid the firm from revealing that customers’ electronic records have been searched via governmental warrants, a Washington federal judge ruled Feb. 8, denying in part the DOJ’s motion to dismiss Microsoft’s constitutional challenge to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) (Microsoft Corp. v. The U.S. Department of Justice, et al., No. 2:16-cv-00538, W.D. Wash., 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18691)....