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Murphy expresses serious concern over implications of US Court ruling for Irish and EU Data Protection law

The Minister for EU Affairs and Data Protection, Dara Murphy T.D., has today (Wednesday 3rd September) expressed his serious concern regarding the implications of the decision by a US District Court Judge to lift a stay on the execution of a criminal search warrant for data held by Microsoft in Ireland.

Commenting on these developments, Minister Murphy said, "the possible implications of this ruling are very serious for Ireland and the European Union as compliance with the warrant may result in Microsoft, and any other US companies with operations in the EU which are served with such warrants in the future, being in breach of the Irish Data Protection Acts and the EU Data Protection Directive. This would create significant legal uncertainty for Irish and EU consumers and companies regarding the protection of their data which, in this digital age, is everyone's most valuable asset.

I am monitoring this case very closely and will be seeking the advice of the Data Protection Commissioner as well as the Office of the Attorney General of the implications of this latest ruling. I have chaired an interdepartmental committee to discuss how to respond to this situation and, additionally, I met with the Commission in Brussels on Monday (1st September) to discuss the implications for the Data Protection Directive and the paramount importance of ensuring that the EU data protection environment is fully respected. As the EU's only Member State with a Minister with the specific portfolio of Data Protection, Ireland is determined to be at the fore of these efforts and, in this regard, I have already had contacts with my counterparts on this.

I will also be discussing the implications of this Court ruling with the both US Chargé d'Affaires and the American Chamber of Commerce in Dublin with a view to informing the Government of appropriate courses of action. Ireland and the US enjoy an excellent working relationship in the area of law enforcement and a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty in Criminal Matters between Ireland and the US has been in force since 2001. This provides for the due process to be followed for the request, and transfer of data in criminal matters. Cooperation in the area of law enforcement is a fundamental element of our international relations, in particular with our partners in the US, which is why the issue of the transfer of the data itself is not objectionable, but rather the process that is being utilised. We must ensure that our data is afforded the maximum protection available and only transferred to other jurisdictions after the process set down in the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty has been followed.