not contemplate or permit extraterritorial application, we generally must then
determine whether the case at issue involves such a prohibited application. Id at 266–
67. As we recently observed in Mastafa v. Chevron Corp., “An evaluation of the
presumption’s application to a particular case is essentially��an inquiry into whether the
domestic contacts are sufficient to avoid triggering the presumption at all.” 770 F.3d
170, 182 (2d Cir. 2014).
In making this second‐stage determination, we first look to the “territorial events
or relationships” that are the “focus” of the relevant statutory provision. Id. at 183
(alterations and internal quotation marks omitted). If the domestic contacts presented
by the case fall within the “focus” of the statutory provision or are “the objects of the
statute’s solicitude,” then the application of the provision is not unlawfully
extraterritorial. Morrison, 561 U.S. at 267. If the domestic contacts are merely
secondary, however, to the statutory “focus,” then the provision’s application to the
case is extraterritorial and precluded.
In identifying the “focus” of the SCA’s warrant provisions, it is helpful to resort
to the familiar tools of statutory interpretation, considering the text and plain meaning
of the statute, see, e.g., Gottlieb v. Carnival Corp., 436 F.3d 335, 337 (2d Cir. 2006), as well
as its framework, procedural aspects, and legislative history. Cf. Morrison, 561 U.S. at
266–70 (looking to text and statutory context to discern focus of statutory provision);
Loginovskaya, 764 F.3d at 272–73 (analyzing text, context, and precedent to discern focus
for Morrison purposes). Having done so, we conclude that the relevant provisions of
the SCA focus on protecting the privacy of the content of a user’s stored electronic
communications. Although the SCA also prescribes methods under which the
government may obtain access to that content for law enforcement purposes, it does so
in the context of a primary emphasis on protecting user content ― the “object[] of the
statute’s solicitude.” Morrison, 561 U.S. at 267.
33
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