The US Conceded That The Warrant Presented to Microsoft Did Not Apply to Overseas Locations

C. Whether the SCA’s Warrant Provisions Contemplate Extraterritorial Application

We dispose of the first question with relative ease.  The government conceded at oral argument that the warrant provisions of the SCA do not contemplate or permit extraterritorial application.[19] Our review of the statute confirms the soundness of this concession.

[19] When asked, “What text in the Stored Communications Act do you point to, to support your assertion that . . . Congress intended extraterritorial application?”, the government responded, “There’s no extraterritorial application here at all.”  Recording of Oral Argument at 1:06:40– 1:07:00.  Later, when Judge Lynch observed, “I take it that suggests that the government actually agrees that there shall not be extraterritorial application of the Stored Communications Act . . . what this dispute is about is about the focus of the statute and what counts as an extraterritorial application of the statute,” the government answered, “That’s right, Judge.”  Id. at 1:25:38– 1:26:05.