No, America, you can't just demand customer data from anywhere in the world

The US government has lost its bid to overturn a previous ruling which stated it could not force companies to hand over customer data that is stored on servers outside the US.

The government's appeal stems from a ruling back in July when it lost a case in which it was trying to obtain customer data from Microsoft. It was seen as a win for privacy at the time, but the government thought the ruling could stand in the way of law enforcement. A vote by the second US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan means that an appeal will not be heard.

The original case saw the US government trying to gain access to emails stored on Microsoft-owned servers in Ireland. Despite being based in Washington state, Circuit Judge Susan Carney ruled that it was not possible to use domestic search warrants issued under the federal Stored Communications Act to access these emails to assist in a narcotics case.

But Tuesday's vote -- which resulted in a 4-4 split at the federal appeals court -- means that the original ruling stands, much to the relief of technology companies who have invested heavily in the cloud.

Not all of the judges involved in the appeal are happy, however. Of the four who voted in the government's favor, Judge Jose Cabranes, said:

It has substantially burdened the government's legitimate law enforcement efforts; created a roadmap for the facilitation of criminal activity; and impeded programs to protect the national security of the United States and its allies.

This is unlikely to be the end of the case. US Department of Justice spokesman Peter Carr said: "We are reviewing the decision and its multiple dissenting opinions and considering our options".

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