The Supreme Court tossed out a case over whether the federal government could seize and search information stored on servers overseas on Tuesday. The move comes after Congress passed a law addressing the dispute between Microsoft and the government last month.
The court issued a per curium opinion Tuesday saying the case had become moot due to the legislative action. The justices heard arguments in the case in February.
“No live dispute remains between the parties over the issue with respect to which certiorari was granted,” the unsigned opinion said.
The case focused on a privacy fight between Microsoft and the federal government that began when the government obtained a warrant for email data belonging to a Microsoft account holder who was part of a drug trafficking investigation.
The account information, which Microsoft turned over, was stored in the U.S. But the content of the email account was stored in a data center in Ireland, and Microsoft refused to hand over the email data.
Lower courts split on whether Microsoft should have to turn over the email records, and the decision was left to the Supreme Court.
But during oral arguments in the case, the justices indicated they were aware Congress might act.
Lawmakers last month passed a massive $1.3 trillion spending bill, which included the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act, or the CLOUD Act. The law allows the U.S. government, with a warrant, to seize email data stored by communications providers on servers overseas.
The plan also created a mechanism under which communications providers can challenge the government’s data request in court if it would force the company to run afoul of another country’s laws.
The bill, spearheaded by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., had the backing of both the Trump administration and Microsoft, which were the two parties in the case before the Supreme Court.
After the spending bill was signed into law, the Justice Department and Microsoft asked the justices to dismiss the case.
