Microsoft Sues Justice Department Over Client Data Gag Orders

By Dina Bass, Bloomberg News

Microsoft Corp. sued the U.S. Justice Department in an attempt to stop the government from forcing it to turn its customers’ e-mails and other data over to law enforcement without their knowledge.

The lawsuit, which names the Justice Department and Attorney General Loretta Lynch, ratchets up the pressure by technology companies against the U.S. government and echoes a struggle by Apple Inc. to protect its customers’ privacy by refusing to undermine the encryption on its iPhones. Microsoft has been fighting the U.S. over customer privacy and its ability to disclose what it’s had to turn ...