Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, Apple claim right to access user accounts

Software giant Microsoft recently admitted in federal court documents that it had the ability to break into its customers' email accounts and had done so in the past.

The company, according to CNN Money, believed desperate times called for desperate measures, and was forced to break into the Hotmail account of a blogger, who had been leaked proprietary software by an ex-employee (See: Microsoft accessed blogger's Hotmail account to track leak).

"In this case we took extraordinary actions based on specific circumstances," John Frank, a top lawyer for Microsoft, said in a blog post Thursday night.

Alex Kibkalo, a former Lebanon-base ex employee, had in 2012 leaked the software to an anonymous blogger, the FBI said in a complaint.

Given that the software was of a sensitive nature and fearing it could empower other hackers, the company's lawyers approved the emergency action of pulling content.

According to Frank, based on the terms of service, Microsoft customers who used its communication products such as Outlook, Hotmail and Windows Live agreed to "this type of review ... in the most exceptional circumstances."

The action was approved by the company's legal team on the basis of the amount of evidence they gathered, believing the blogger would try selling Microsoft's intellectual property that was illegally obtained.

Meanwhile, according to The Guardian newspaper, Microsoft was not only company claiming the right to read users' emails – Apple, Yahoo and Google all reserved that right as well.

Though the recent developments had focused on Microsoft's preventive action in accessing a journalist's Hotmail account, most webmail services claimed the right to read users' email if they believed that such access was necessary to protect their property.

After it came to light that Microsoft could, and did, read users' email, the firm's deputy general counsel told The Guardian its privacy policy would be tightened up.

Under the new rules internal and external legal teams would be required to review any internal requests for access, and commit the firm to increased transparency over future requests.

However, other major email providers too reserved exactly the same rights.

Yahoo required users to "acknowledge, consent and agree that Yahoo may access… your account information and Content… in a good faith belief that such access… is reasonably necessary to… protect the rights… of Yahoo."

Under Google's terms too users need to "acknowledge and agree that Google may access… your account information and any Content associated with that account… in a good faith belief that such access… is reasonably necessary to… protect against imminent harm to the… property… of Google".