Have you seen your Facebook page lately? The photos from your best friend’s wedding, where you were last night and even your phone number?
Facebook routinely grants government requests to access private pages and restricts content based on local laws. The social networking site recently released a breakdown of all activity worldwide from July to December 2015. Highlights include:
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| [Source: Keri J] |
TOP 10 COUNTRIES FOR REQUESTS FOR USER DATA
United States (19,235)
India (5,561)
United Kingdom (4,190)
Germany (3,140)
France (2,711)
Brazil (1,655)
Italy (1,525)
Argentina (892)
Australia (802)
Poland (611)
TOP 10 COUNTRIES FOR USER ACCOUNTS REFERENCED
United States (30,041)
India (7,018)
United Kingdom (5,478)
Germany (3,628)
France (2,894)
Brazil (2,673)
Italy (2,598)
Argentina (1,047)
Spain (947)
Australia (846)
TOP 10 COUNTRIES FOR PERCENTAGE OF REQUESTS WHERE SOME DATA WAS PRODUCED
Nigeria (100%)
Croatia (90.91%)
Sweden (87.31%)
Turkey (84.20%)
United Kingdom (82.15%)
Serbia (81.48%)
United States (81.41%)
Albania (80.00%)
United Arab Emirates (80.00%)
Canada (79.63%)
Croatia (90.91%)
Sweden (87.31%)
Turkey (84.20%)
United Kingdom (82.15%)
Serbia (81.48%)
United States (81.41%)
Albania (80.00%)
United Arab Emirates (80.00%)
Canada (79.63%)
TOP 10 COUNTRIES FOR CONTENT RESTRICTIONS
France (37,695)
India (14,971)
Turkey (2,078)
Germany (366)
Israel (236)
Austria (231)
United Kingdom (97)
Russia (56)
Brazil (34)
Kazakhstan (25)
India (14,971)
Turkey (2,078)
Germany (366)
Israel (236)
Austria (231)
United Kingdom (97)
Russia (56)
Brazil (34)
Kazakhstan (25)
The complete listing of all 91 countries with user data requests and content restrictions in the second half of 2015 can be found at https://govtrequests.facebook.com/, along with all reports dating back to 2013.
According to Facebook, government requests typically are prompted by criminal investigations and ask for basic subscriber information including name, registration date and length of service; account content; and/or IP address logs. Content restrictions occur when governments ask Facebook to remove content that would not be allowed under local law.
So, the next time you’re on Facebook (or even the Facebook-owned, metadata collecting WhatsApp), make sure that everything there is information you would be willing to share with your government. After all, sometimes even the most innocent of “criminals” can find themselves under government surveillance.
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