Bill Gates Says US Government Should Tell Users When Looking at Their Data

[Exterminator]

Content source

http://news.softpedia.com/news/bill-gates-says-us-government-should-tell-users-when-looking-at-their-data-503146.shtml

Microsoft filed a lawsuit against the US government, asking a judge to rule in its favor and allow the company to inform customers whenever law enforcement agencies make requests to access their data stored in the cloud.

And while the software giant has already received support from the biggest privacy advocates around the world, company founder Bill Gates is probably the most important name that can take Microsoft’s side in this important dispute.

“Striking the perfect balance”
In a statement at a Reuters Newsmaker event in Washington, Bill Gates has explained that Microsoft is right when it claims that customers must be notified whenever the government analyzes their data. However, he admits that there are cases when this shouldn’t happen. He describes these cases as “extraordinary,” and calls for further discussions to find a balance between privacy and national security.

“There probably are some cases where (the government) should be able to go in covertly and get information about a company’s email,” Gates goes on to say. “But the position Microsoft is taking in this suit is that it should be extraordinary and it shouldn’t be a matter of course that there is a gag order automatically put in.”

Gates further explains that striking the perfect balance on government access to private data isn’t the kind of thing that can be done overnight and adds that privacy advocates and tech companies, on one side, and law enforcement agencies, on the other, must continue talks on this topic.

“I don’t think there are any absolutists who think the government should be able to get everything or the government should be able to get nothing,” Bill Gates points out.

Microsoft’s lawsuit against the US government comes at a time when Apple is also fighting Uncle Sam in a dispute that involves the hacking of iPhones used in criminal activities. Apple refuses to help the government on privacy grounds while the latter points to national security as a reason to do it. Also in this case, Apple is asking for further talks for the same balance between customer privacy and national security.

 

[Entreri]

Microsoft has finally decided to follow's Apples good example.

Certainly when the data is on the OneDrive, it belongs to Microsoft and the US government (and other governments).

It could be possible that non-OneDrive data could be accessed via OneDrive, without user knowledge.

I never believed in Blackberry security, there was no way it could penetrate so many countries without governments not having access to all the data. I had one Blackberry employee going on and on about their so-called security...This week, RCMP (Canuck federal police), had access to the Global decryption key going back to 2010 or prior.

This would be very concerning I think for people the US, given the rabid "law" enforcement agencies and incarceration rates (by far the highest in the world, 2.2 million total with over 7 million in the system). And say states like China.

 

[EddyNash4600]

Go Microsoft and Bill Gates. We do not need any more government spying!!! Finally they are sticking up for us!!!

 

[Noxx]

“I don’t think there are any absolutists who think the government should be able to get everything or the government should be able to get nothing,” -- afraid not, Bill. I think most people are vehemently opposed to government data collection. Collection by Microsoft, however, I think you'll find there are more people in the middle, but still, a high number for zero collection. I'm with Bill when he says that there may be necessary situations -- "extraordinary" cases, as he calls it. Unfortunately, the anti-data collection "absolutists" will never buy that argument, and just say they'll use that loop hole as an excuse to go nuts with collection, even without probable cause.