U.S. judge rules search warrants extend to U.S. companies’ overseas email accounts

A U.S. federal judge has ruled that U.S. Internet Service Providers must hand over customer emails and other content sought by U.S. government search warrants, even when the data is stored overseas.

The ruling addressed a search warrant against Microsoft Inc. for one of its customers whose email is stored on a server in Ireland.

As a Norwegian company and email service operating under Norwegian jurisdiction, Runbox is not affected by this ruling.

Runbox will not disclose account information or email data to authorities unless presented with a Norwegian court order.

Find out more about Runbox’ privacy policies and Norwegian privacy regulations.

Read the full story at Reuters.

14 thoughts on “U.S. judge rules search warrants extend to U.S. companies’ overseas email accounts”

  1. This is precisely why I prefer your service over all others I’ve used in the past. As an American, I appreciate and applaud the fact you stand up for your users wherever they may reside.

    1. Thank you for your support!

      We hope the US will improve their privacy regulations as we are big fans of both the American people and the country itself. Regardless, Runbox will remain a safe haven for anyone who cares about the privacy and security of online communication.

  2. Didn’t realize the ramifications when I signed on with Runbox years ago. However, appreciate the service more as time goes by. We have grandstanding politicians who use guns and abortion as smoke screens to divert attention while they strip away freedoms and privacy.

  3. Now we only need a good AES encryption of the mails storred on the runbox servers 😉

  4. Cannot agree with Jon A more. I’m so glad I found you guys. I’ve been trying to find a suitable replacement for gmail for quite some time when I finally came across runbox.com–couldn’t be happier! It’s not that I have anything to hide… it’s the principle that counts!!

  5. Yes like the privacy rules of Runbox, even if i haven’t anything to hide… the private life is private (dot)… I agree with “michael” an encryption of the email on the server will be appreciated. -> Why not create one folder on all account that all email archived on it will be encrypted.

    There is a lot of possibility you can do to become the first of the first email company 😉

    Good continuance.

  6. I don’t see how it makes much difference, given that the NSA has been doing man-in-the-middle all along. Nobody prosecutes the government. 😐

  7. what about PIA , that is located in Michigan?All the fuzz about privacy but it is just under USA legislation, isn’t it?

  8. How difficult would it be for the US Govt to get a Norweigan court order? How often does runbox get requests?

  9. Forced out of my Lavabit account with everyone else, I’m now a satisfied customer of Runbox.

    I have nothing to hide from my government, but what really angers me is other email providers going through my personal email looking for information that they can sell to advertisers. Don’t have to worry about that, here.

  10. Mike:

    Upon suspicion of criminal activities involving a Runbox account, a request from foreign authorities or agencies regarding Runbox account details or user data may be presented to the Norwegian police authorities for an independent investigation. The Norwegian authorities may then present Runbox Solutions with a subpoena, which will be rejected by us as a matter of principle.

    The case may then be submitted to a Norwegian court, and an attorney will be appointed to represent the account owner. If the court finds that there is probable cause for suspicion, Runbox Solutions may be presented with a court order to disclose the requested information.

    Since Runbox Solutions was founded in 2011 we have received 0 court orders for disclosure of account details or user data. We have received 3 requests directly from attorneys in the US, all of which have been rejected outright.

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