In a new letter to the United States’ top legal official, Microsoft is now asking for permission to allow it to reveal more information concerning precisely how and under what circumstances Redmond and other tech companies are sharing data with the National Security Agency (NSA) and other federal agencies.
Recent news suggests that Microsoft has a fairly cozy relationship with the spy agencies. Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that Microsoft gives the NSA early access to information about discovered security flaws and other bugs before fixing them publicly. Last week, new leaks from Edward Snowden’s trove showed that Skype chats and voice calls can be tapped by the NSA.
As Microsoft’s general counsel Bradford L. Smith wrote (PDF) on Tuesday:
Since the initial leak of NSA documents, Microsoft has engaged constructively with the Department of Justice, the FBI, and other members of the Intelligence Community on the ground rules governing our ability to address these issues and the leaked documents publicly. We have appreciated the good faith in which the Government has dealt with us during this challenging period. But we’re not making adequate progress. When the Department and FBI denied our requests to share more information, we went to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) on June 19 to seek relief. Almost a month later, the Government is still considering its response to our motion.
Last week we requested official permission to publicly explain practices that are the subject of newly leaked documents that refer to Microsoft and have now been misinterpreted in news stories around the world. This request was rejected. While we understand that various government agencies are trying to reach a decision on these issues, this has been the response for weeks. In the meantime, the practical result of this indecision is continued refusals to allow us to share more information with the public.
As we reported earlier, the newly published Snowden leaks indicate that Skype calls are getting to intelligence agencies in a "very clear" manner. That doesn't necessarily mean Microsoft is helping the government, and its most recent transparency report (PDF) says that no Skype content has been disclosed to any government. However, it remains possible that Microsoft may have received from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court a sealed order mandating the company's cooperation and silence. The report does note that last year, Microsoft "provided guidance to law enforcement" regarding Skype a total of 210 times.
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