Google must turn over foreign mails to FBI

A U.S. judge has ordered Google to comply with search warrants seeking customer emails stored outside the United States, Reuters reported.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Rueter in Philadelphia ruled on Friday that transferring emails from a foreign server so FBI agents could review them locally as part of a domestic fraud probe did not qualify as a seizure. 

"Though the retrieval of the electronic data by Google from its multiple data centers abroad has the potential for an invasion of privacy, the actual infringement of privacy occurs at the time of disclosure in the United States," - the judge said.

Google, a unit of Mountain View, California-based Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), said in a statement on Saturday: "The magistrate in this case departed from precedent, and we plan to appeal the decision. We will continue to push back on overbroad warrants."