United States v. Microsoft Corp., 584 U.S. 236

In Dec. 2013 DOJ obtained a §2703 warrant directing Microsoft to disclose the contents and records of a specified e‑mail account “to the extent . . . within [Microsoft’s] possession, custody, or control.”
After service, Microsoft determined the account contents were stored on servers in a datacenter in Dublin, Ireland and moved to quash the warrant as to that data.
The Magistrate Judge and the District Court denied Microsoft’s motion; the District Court later found Microsoft in civil contempt for noncompliance (per a stipulation).
On appeal the Second Circuit reversed, holding that applying §2703 to compel disclosure of emails stored abroad would be an unauthorized extraterritorial application of the statute (In re Warrant to Search a Certain E‑Mail Account, 829 F.3d 197).
While certiorari was pending, Congress enacted the CLOUD Act, which amends the Stored Communications Act to require a provider to comply with preservation/disclosure obligations “regardless of whether such communication, record, or other information is located within or outside of the United States.”
The government obtained a new §2703 warrant under the CLOUD Act covering the same materials; the parties agreed the new warrant replaced the original, leaving no live controversy and rendering the case moot.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether §2703 permits a U.S. provider to be compelled to produce communications stored overseas	§2703 authorizes warrants for communications in provider’s possession, custody, or control regardless of location	§2703 cannot be applied extraterritorially to require disclosure of data stored abroad	Case is moot after passage of the CLOUD Act and issuance of a new warrant; Supreme Court vacated lower‑court judgment and remanded with instructions to dismiss as moot
Whether contempt finding should stand given noncompliance with the original warrant	Contempt was proper under the original warrant	Contempt inappropriate because disclosure would have required extraterritorial application of §2703	Court instructed appellate court to vacate the District Court’s contempt finding
Whether the passage of the CLOUD Act affects the controversy	Government: CLOUD Act resolves statutory ambiguity and authorizes compelled production	Microsoft: CLOUD Act’s enactment removes dispute from the court but does not retroactively validate prior contempt	Because parties agreed the new warrant replaced the old, there is no live dispute and the matter is moot
Appropriate remedy when a case becomes moot while on certiorari	Vacatur of lower judgment and remand to dismiss as moot	Same (parties concurred)	Court vacated the judgment below and remanded with instructions to vacate contempt and dismissal as moot

Department of the Treasury, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms v. Galioto, 477 U.S. 556 (1986) (mootness following change in law warrants vacatur of lower judgment)
In re Warrant to Search a Certain E‑mail Account Controlled & Maintained by Microsoft Corp., 829 F.3d 197 (2d Cir. 2016) (Second Circuit held §2703 could not be applied extraterritorially to emails stored overseas)
In re Warrant to Search a Certain E‑mail Account Controlled & Maintained by Microsoft Corp., 15 F. Supp. 3d 466 (S.D.N.Y. 2014) (district court denial of motion to quash and civil contempt ruling)