Twitter Transparency Report Reveals Increase in Government Requests

Twitter Transparency Report Reveals Increase in Government Requests
Advertisement

Twitter said government requests for user data grew sharply in the past six months as more countries asked for a greater amount of information about users.

More than half of the requests came from the United States, as has been the case since Twitter began issuing its "transparency report" in 2012. Typically, the requests are part of criminal investigations. To obtain non-public information about users - such as email addresses - law enforcement agencies have to get a subpoena or court order. Requests for the contents of communications - such as direct messages or non-public tweets - require a search warrant.

The report does not include national security requests because Twitter, along with other Internet companies, has been prohibited from disclosing information on such requests. Twitter, along with other Internet companies, has been pushing for the ability to publish more information about national security orders.

San Francisco-based Twitter Inc. said in a blog post Thursday that it received 2,058 requests from 54 countries in the first six months of the year, including from eight countries that had not previously submitted requests. Twitter produced at least "some information" that the governments asked for in 52 percent of cases worldwide and in 72 percent of requests coming from the U.S.

(Also See: Twitter Posts Jump in Revenue as Active Users Increase 24 Percent)

In the last six months of 2013, the short messaging service received 1,410 requests, as has been the case since Twitter began issuing its "transparency report" in 2012. Most Twitter users live outside the U.S.

In addition to account information queries, Twitter said it also received 432 requests to remove content, up 15 percent from 377 in the last six months of 2013. The number of copyright notices Twitter received also increased, by 38 percent to 9,199 compared with the second half of last year.

Other companies, including Google Inc., Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., Facebook Inc. and Yahoo Inc., also release similar reports on government requests in recent years.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Iliad of France Makes Surprise Bid for T-Mobile US
Sony Xperia C3 Selfie-Focused Smartphone Price Revealed
Share on Facebook Gadgets360 Twitter Share Tweet Snapchat Share Reddit Comment google-newsGoogle News
 
 

Advertisement

Follow Us

Advertisement

© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2024. All rights reserved.
Trending Products »
Latest Tech News »