|
Governments ask for
data on 38,000 Facebook users
The Guardian, NEW YORK
Government agencies around the world demanded access to the information of more
than 38,000 Facebook users in the first half of this year, with more than half
of the orders coming from the US, the company said on Tuesday.
The Taiwanese government was included in the list, seeking information on 329
users, Facebook said in its Global Government Requests Report. Taiwan was not
ranked among the top 10 countries in Facebook requests. The US topped the list,
with requests on about 20,000 accounts from January to June.
The report comes as the social network giant and its peers are coming under
intense scrutiny following revelations about their co-operation with the US
National Security Agencyˇ¦s (NSA) mass surveillance of US and foreign citizens.
ˇ§Transparency and trust are core values at Facebook. We strive to embody them in
all aspects of our services, including our approach to responding to government
data requests,ˇ¨ Colin Stretch, Facebook general counsel, said in a blogpost. ˇ§We
want to make sure that the people who use our service understand the nature and
extent of the requests we receive and the strict policies and processes we have
in place to handle them.ˇ¨
US authorities made 11,000 to 12,000 requests for information on 20,000 to
21,000 individuals over the six months. The company complied in 79 percent of
cases.
Facebook said it had to give a range for the US figures in order to give an
indication of ˇ§all criminal and national security requests to the maximum extent
permitted by law.ˇ¨
The figures released by Facebook give no detail on the types of requests
received or of what type of information the company handed over.
Facebook, along with Google and others, is currently pressing the US Congress to
be allowed to give in greater detail the number of requests it receives from US
authorities.
The NSA has the authority to demand data about communications with non-US
citizens without specific warrants and gags companies from disclosing even the
most basic details of those cases.
ˇ§We continue to push the United States government to allow more transparency
regarding these requests, including specific numbers and types of national
security-related requests. We will publish updated information for the United
States as soon as we obtain legal authorization to do so,ˇ¨ Facebook said.
Other countries that have a large Facebook user base such as India, the UK,
Italy, Germany and France, also requested data on thousands of Facebook users,
the report said.
Facebook said that most of the requests for information were to help with
official investigations, primarily related to criminal cases such as robberies
and kidnappings.
India made the next highest number of requests for information, 3,245 requests
on 4,144 users. Facebook complied in 50 percent of cases. In the UK, authorities
asked for details on 2,337 users and Facebook complied in 68 percent of cases.
Additional reporting by CNA
|
