Google: Government Data Requests Grew 150 Percent Since 2009

In Google’s latest transparency report, the search engine has revealed that requests for user data by governments worldwide have risen 150 percent since the company first began publishing such reports in 2009. In the US, which accounts for about 40 percent of the demand, the number of requests rose by 250 percent.

In the first half of 2014, the number of requests for user data stood at roughly 32,000, 15 percent higher than in the second half of last year, and 150 percent up on 2009, while in the US those figures were 19 percent and 250 percent respectively.

Ask and you shall receive

In the first six months of 2014, British government agencies made 1,535 requests for the data on 1,991 users in total, with 72 percent of such requests satisfied partially or in full.

Nine countries demanded data for the first time, Google said: Albania, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Indonesia, Kosovo, Luxembourg, Maldives, Namibia and Nepal.

The rise reflects Google’s growth as a company as well as the increasing use of its data in law enforcement operations. The company said it complied in whole or in part with about 65 percent of the requests.

The figures follow revelations about surveillance programmes run by government agencies such as the US’ NSA, but Google noted that surveillance activities in some countries have continued to grow. Google said that while it sees a “legitimate and important role” for governments in fighting crime, surveillance laws need to be more transparent.

“To maintain public confidence in both government and technology, we need legislative reform that ensures surveillance powers are transparent, reasonably scoped by law, and subject to independent oversight,” wrote Google legal director Richard Salgado in a blog post.

Reforms

Salgado reiterated Google’s support for the USA Freedom Act, which would scale back the government’s bulk collection of internet metadata and allow IT companies to disclose more data about national security data demands.

Google is currently only able to disclose data on national security data requests in 1,000-increment ranges, delayed by six months. The company said it had received between 0 and 999 requests under the US’ Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and the same range under national security letters (NSL) in the second half of 2013.

Google called upon Congress to update the Reagan-era 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”.

“There is a growing consensus in support of these reforms,” he wrote. “In the remaining days of this session, Congress has a chance to pass historic legislation that will help restore trust that has been lost. We urge them to seize upon this opportunity.”

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