Internet privacy took another big hit in the United States District Court on Thursday.

According to a report from Reuters, an order from a U.S. District Judge could force Microsoft to turn over one of its customer’s email documents to the federal government. The twist is that the emails in question are stored in a data center located in Dublin, Ireland, raising questions about the government’s reach and jurisdiction in such foreign matters.

Despite a warrant from the government, Microsoft has repeatedly refused to hand over the emails from its foreign customer, stating that the warrant “improperly extended the authority of federal prosecutors,” and that the government should not be legally able to seize any customer data not held on United States soil.

After a two-hour court hearing in New York on Thursday, Judge Loretta Preska sided with the government, arguing the the case was not an issue of where the data was located, but of the company that controlled it. In other words, since Microsoft is a company based on United States soil, Preska believes that it is required to respond to any federal warrants or requests for information – even if those requests lead to the privacy infringement of people not living on United States soil.

Microsoft, of course, is not happy with the ruling, though Preska has agreed to temporarily suspend her order so that the company can formulate an appeal.

Microsoft has not been alone in fighting against the federal warrant, though. On the contrary, numerous other technology companies have come to the Redmond, Washington corporation’s defense, from Apple and AT&T to Cisco and Verizon. Each company is based in the United States, but has customers abroad. They are worried about the privacy implications of the case.

The companies are also concerned that, if the government wins, the ruling could result in a loss of foreign earnings. If overseas customers want to avoid their information being within the grasp of the United States government, they can simply take their business elsewhere. Such would represent a hit to the bottom line of numerous tech companies, as well as to the American economy as a whole.