U.S. requests more and more Google user data

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 18:08:00 +0000

Google Wednesday released its most recent Transparency Report, showing a sharp uptick in U.S. government warrantless requests for user data. User data requests by government entities worldwide have increased by 70 percent since Google first began amassing this data in 2009, with a particularly sharp uptick in U.S. government requests.

Google's most recent report is the first to break down the kinds of legal process that government entities in the U.S. use when compelling communications and technology companies to hand over user data. Notably, the vast majority of requests (68 percent) are made without the need for search warrants. Under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, government agencies can issue subpoenas to request user-identifying information from third-party servers. Google reported it complies to some extent with 90 percent of such requests.

Salon.com > user data

U.S. requests more and more Google user data