Requests from governments worldwide for user information have more than doubled over three years. Worse still, says Google, is what the US won't let us tell you. November 14, 2013 6:49 AM PST A look at Google's requests over the years. (Credit: Google) The US government is on a data-gathering spree at Google, new data from the search giant reveals. Between January and June 2013, the US government issued nearly 11,000 requests to Google asking for user information. India was second with nearly 2,700 government requests. The collective requests from governments around the world for that six-month period have more than doubled in the three-and-half years since Google's first government transparency report, which covered the second half of 2009. Google shared four graphs on a blog announcing the increased requests on Thursday. One of those graphs -- Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act requests -- was completely redacted. The publication of that graph was used by Google to make a point: the US government has not allowed companies to share requests related to national security. Related stories White House reportedly considers civilian NSA chief NSA workers reportedly shared their passwords with Snowden Web inventor Berners-Lee sounds alarm on mass spying Apple privacy report details government queries NSA chief may lose US Cyber Command role "We believe it's your right to know what kinds of requests and how many each government is making of us and other companies," Google Legal Director Richard Salgado wrote in the blog on Thursday. "However, the US Department of Justice contends that US law does not allow us to share information about some national security requests that we might receive. Specifically, the U.S. government argues that we cannot share information about the requests we receive (if any) under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. But you deserve to know." FISA has become a hot-button topic this year after former NSA contractor Edward Snowden released secrets on the US government's alleged spying activities. The US government has used FISA to block technology companies, like Google, from sharing what kind of requests they've received. Some of those companies brought a federal case earlier this year in an attempt to share that information. So far, those efforts have failed. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has been one of the more outspoken critics of the US government's secrecy. In a statement on Thursday, the organization's legislative counsel Christopher Calabrese made clear he wasn't pleased with Google's latest announcement: Law enforcement requests to Google have tripled in four years but we're still stuck with the same internet privacy law we had in 1986. If police need a warrant to open someone's mail than they should need one to rifle through someone's email, regardless of its age or if it's stored on a company's server. It's time Congress and the president updated (the) Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) so there's only one standard for government access to the content of our electronic communications: a warrant based upon probable cause. Anything less is indefensible. Of the nearly 11,000 requests made by the US, 68 percent were subpoenas. Another 22 percent were warrants, according to Google.
Requests from governments worldwide for user information have more than doubled over three years. Worse still, says Google, is what the US won't let us tell you.
A look at Google's requests over the years.
(Credit: Google)
The US government is on a data-gathering spree at Google, new data from the search giant reveals.
Between January and June 2013, the US government issued nearly 11,000 requests to Google asking for user information. India was second with nearly 2,700 government requests.
The collective requests from governments around the world for that six-month period have more than doubled in the three-and-half years since Google's first government transparency report, which covered the second half of 2009.
Google shared four graphs on a blog announcing the increased requests on Thursday. One of those graphs -- Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act requests -- was completely redacted. The publication of that graph was used by Google to make a point: the US government has not allowed companies to share requests related to national security.
Related stories
- White House reportedly considers civilian NSA chief
- NSA workers reportedly shared their passwords with Snowden
- Web inventor Berners-Lee sounds alarm on mass spying
- Apple privacy report details government queries
- NSA chief may lose US Cyber Command role
"We believe it's your right to know what kinds of requests and how many each government is making of us and other companies," Google Legal Director Richard Salgado wrote in the blog on Thursday. "However, the US Department of Justice contends that US law does not allow us to share information about some national security requests that we might receive. Specifically, the U.S. government argues that we cannot share information about the requests we receive (if any) under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. But you deserve to know."
FISA has become a hot-button topic this year after former NSA contractor Edward Snowden released secrets on the US government's alleged spying activities. The US government has used FISA to block technology companies, like Google, from sharing what kind of requests they've received. Some of those companies brought a federal case earlier this year in an attempt to share that information. So far, those efforts have failed.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has been one of the more outspoken critics of the US government's secrecy. In a statement on Thursday, the organization's legislative counsel Christopher Calabrese made clear he wasn't pleased with Google's latest announcement:
Law enforcement requests to Google have tripled in four years but we're still stuck with the same internet privacy law we had in 1986. If police need a warrant to open someone's mail than they should need one to rifle through someone's email, regardless of its age or if it's stored on a company's server. It's time Congress and the president updated (the) Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) so there's only one standard for government access to the content of our electronic communications: a warrant based upon probable cause. Anything less is indefensible.
Of the nearly 11,000 requests made by the US, 68 percent were subpoenas. Another 22 percent were warrants, according to Google.
