Latest Google Transparency Report highlights US government’s growing requests for users’ data

Google just pushed out new data for its Transparency Report to show how the U.S. government’s requests for users’ data have steadily increased in recent months and years.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based company notably highlighted request growth in the second half of 2012, and how they’ve increased by more than 70 percent since 2009, as usage of its services continued to grow. Google specifically revealed on the official Google Blog that it received 21,389 requests from 33,634 users between July and December 2012:

We’ve shared figures like this since 2010 because it’s important for people to understand how government actions affect them. We’re always looking for ways to make the report even more informative. So for the first time we’re now including a breakdown of the kinds of legal process that government entities in the U.S. use when compelling communications and technology companies to hand over user data.

Among the notable numbers from the second half of 2012, Google said 68 percent of government requests were through subpoenas under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act without the involvement of a judge. The company then said 22 percent of government requests were ECPA search warrants issued by judges, and the remaining 10 percent were ECPA court orders issued by judges, etc.

Check it out: 

• Transparency Report | User Data Requests

Google warned that its latest Transparency Report doesn’t include new numbers on content removals, because those statistics will release “separately going forward.”