Protecting privacy and press freedom: An important Fourth Circuit ruling – Microsoft Blog

Nov 11, 2026 | Jon Palmer, Corporate Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, Microsoft The free press in America depends on the ability of journalists to protect confidential sources. On November 10, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit underscored that principle. The court placed limits on secret government demands for journalists’ online data, and upheld the rights Microsoft and LinkedIn went to court to defend. LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, challenged two government orders: one, seeking journalists’ online data, and another that prevented the company from informing the journalists or their news organizations of the demand.   The opinion, authored by Judge Harvie Wilkinson III, opens with the statement that “[i]t is part of the audacity of the American project to believe that collective security can coexist with individual freedom.” Writing that “[c]onfidentiality of sources is the lifeblood of a free press,” the court remanded the case to the district court to consider narrowing both the scope of the government’s demand for information and the restrictions on LinkedIn’s ability to disclose the demand.   In a world where journalists routinely use digital platforms to identify sources, communicate privately, and gather information, this case provides key legal guidance. Overbroad
Read More