Google today announced it’s releasing an updated Transparency Report with the tenth release including updated numbers on government requests for user information during the first half of this year. Google also noted that the report includes updated data on demands under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and through National Security Letters (NSLs). Google said today that apart from FISA and NSL requests, demands from government for user info continued to rise:
Worldwide, the numbers continue to rise: excluding FISA and NSL demands, we’ve seen a 15% increase since the second half of last year, and a 150% jump since we first began publishing this data in 2009. In the U.S., those increases are 19% and 250%, respectively.
While announcing the updated report, Google also noted its support for the USA FREEDOM Act and urged Congress to “move now to enact this legislation into law… Congress should also update the Electronic Communications Privacy Act to make it clear that the government must obtain a search warrant before it can compel a service provider to disclose the content of a user’s communication. Legislation introduced in the House by Representatives Yoder (R-KS), Graves (R-GA) and Polis (D-CO) and in the Senate by Senators Leahy (D-VT) and Lee (R-UT) would create a warrant-for-content standard that protects the Fourth Amendment rights of Internet users.”
You can view Google’s full updated Transparency Report here.
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