Microsoft Can't Shield User Data From Government, Says Government (bloomberg.com)

Microsoft is now arguing in court that their customers have a right to know when the government is reading their e-mail. 

 But "The U.S. said federal law allows it to obtain electronic communications without a warrant or without disclosure of a specific warrant if it would endanger an individual or an investigation," according to Bloomberg.

 An anonymous reader quotes their report:

The software giant's lawsuit alleging that customers have a constitutional right to know if the government has searched or seized their property should be thrown out, the government said in a court filing... 

The U.S. says there's no legal basis for the government to be required to tell Microsoft customers when it intercepts their e-mail... 

The Justice Department's reply Friday underscores the government's willingness to fight back against tech companies it sees obstructing national security and law enforcement investigations...

Secrecy orders on government warrants for access to private e-mail accounts generally prohibit Microsoft from telling customers about the requests for lengthy or even unlimited periods, the company said when it sued. 

At the time, federal courts had issued almost 2,600 secrecy orders to Microsoft alone, and more than two-thirds had no fixed end date, cases the company can never tell customers about, even after an investigation is completed.