Very interesting situation where Microsoft refused to deal with a police request because they are “a foreign company and not subject to NZ laws”. What terrible PR. And what hogwash.
NZ privacy laws are a lot stronger than the US laws, especially when it comes to trading information between businesses. But when the NZ Police call on a criminal matter companies are expected to react and react quickly. Microsoft hid behind some dubious lawyering and so got themselves some negative press, while the offender was caught through other means anyway.
NZ is such a small place that companies can have a trust-based relationship helping the police catch criminals, without giving away irrelevant details of other customers. The US enforcement agencies appear to take a ham-fisted approach, through the beleaguered but not really dead Carnivore and the like. Hopefully Microsoft will learn from this episode.
Lance Wiggs 
Fact with this case is that Microsoft had a choice. They could have done the right thing by supplying the required information, which would have been a far easier option than trying desperately to find reasons as to why they shouldn’t.
This is the result of too much highly paid legal advice not considering practical implications.
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