Microsoft also claims that it goes through a rigorous process when it wants access to someone's digital missives. In this particular case, the company says that while it didn't have a court order to search the user's emails and chat logs, a legal team did a thorough review of the case beforehand. All this, after Microsoft's Scroogled ad campaign called Google out for scanning inboxes to identify data for advertising.

Update: In a new statement, Microsoft vows to go through a more stringent process when it has to crack open a non-employee's Hotmail/Outlook account. Aside from having a legal team assess whether a situation justifies a court order (which it did in this case), a former federal judge has to assess the evidence and come to the same conclusion, as well. Also, the company promises to publish the number of accounts it searches on its bi-annual transparency report. You can read Microsoft's full statement below.

Microsoft's statement:

During an investigation of an employee we discovered evidence that the employee was providing stolen IP, including code relating to our activation process, to a third party. In order to protect our customers and the security and integrity of our products, we conducted an investigation over many months with law enforcement agencies in multiple countries. This included the issuance of a court order for the search of a home relating to evidence of the criminal acts involved. The investigation repeatedly identified clear evidence that the third party involved intended to sell Microsoft IP and had done so in the past.



As part of the investigation, we took the step of a limited review of this third party's Microsoft operated accounts. While Microsoft's terms of service make clear our permission for this type of review, this happens only in the most exceptional circumstances. We apply a rigorous process before reviewing such content. In this case, there was a thorough review by a legal team separate from the investigating team and strong evidence of a criminal act that met a standard comparable to that required to obtain a legal order to search other sites. In fact, as noted above, such a court order was issued in other aspects of the investigation.

A section in Hotmail's Terms of Service states:

We may access or disclose information about you, including the content of your communications, in order to: (a) comply with the law or respond to lawful requests or legal process; (b) protect the rights or property of Microsoft or our customers, including the enforcement of our agreements or policies governing your use of the Service; or (c) act on a good faith belief that such access or disclosure is necessary to protect the personal safety of Microsoft employees, customers, or the public.

Microsoft's follow-up statement and vow to protect users' privacy: