By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
Microsoft took less than one hour to provide the FBI with data connected to the Charlie Hebdo investigation, an attorney for the software giant said Tuesday, The Los Angeles Times reports.
After concluding the request was “proper,” Microsoft gave the FBI the information in within about 45 minutes.
Microsoft attorney Brad Smith said the quick turnover underscores that private companies can work with law enforcement.
But Smith emphasized that new laws expanding the government’s right to access information from the Internet could sacrifice civil liberties.
“If those in government want to shift the line between safety and privacy, the appropriate path is to do so by changing the law rather than asking those of us in the private sector to shift this balance ourselves,” he said. “Democratic societies, not private companies, need to decide on the balances to be struck between public values such as public safety and personal privacy.”
