Tech firms lift lid on US spy agency requests

GOOGLE, Microsoft, Facebook and Yahoo have spilled the beans on US spy agency demands to hand over emails and photos.

TECHNOLOGY giants Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Linked In and Yahoo have, for the first time, released details of US national security requests demanding the handover of people's emails, photos and messages.

The data shows that US spy agencies acting under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act are targeting a dramatically increasing number of people in their "requests" for companies to hand over the contents of emails.

In 2009, Google received requests involving up to 7000 accounts, compared with requests naming up to 23,000 accounts it received in the 12 months to June 2013.

Likewise, Microsoft received orders seeking disclosure of content involving up to 33,000 accounts in the 12 months to June 2013, compared with up to 24,000 in the previous year.

Yahoo reported that it received FISA requests for content involving up to 31,000 accounts in the six months to June 2013, which - in its case - could include words in an email or instant messages, photos on Flickr, Yahoo address book or calendar entries and similar kinds of information.

Facebook received requests involving up to 6000 accounts for the six months to June 30, compared with up to 5000 accounts for the previous six months.

The US government last week lifted a ban that prevented the companies releasing this information but placed restrictions on how the data could be published.

The technology companies are restricted to publishing the details in bands of 1-999 (so it is not clear, for instance, if the spy agencies make one request or 999 requests) and there is a six-month delay in reporting so that the most recent figures cover January to June 2013.

Previously the tech companies were not allowed to break down the request data between conventional law encouragement agencies and spy agencies, nor state that any requests concerned matters of national security.

All of the tech companies are lobbying the US government to be allowed to be even more transparent in their handling of government requests for user data. Their move follows the leaked documents from former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden.

Yahoo said in releasing the information that it would continue to advocate "strenuously for meaningful reform around government surveillance, demanding that government requests be made through lawful means and for lawful purposes, and fighting government requests that we deem unclear, improper, overboard, or unlawful."

Facebook General Counsel Colin Stretch described, in a blog, the publication of the data as

a significant step forward.

"We believe that while governments have an important responsibility to keep people safe, it is possible to do so while also being transparent," he said.

"We will continue to advocate for reform of government surveillance practices around the world, and for greater transparency about the degree to which governments seek access to data in connection with their efforts to keep people safe."

Google law enforcement and information security legal director Richard Salgado said in a blog post that "we still believe more transparency is needed so everyone can better understand how surveillance laws work and decide whether or not they serve the public interest".

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