Government Requests for Facebook User Data Rose in Second-Half 2015

Global government requests to Facebook for user account data rose to 46,763 during the second half of 2015, up from 41,214 requests in the first half of last year, Chris Sonderby, the company deputy general counsel, said in a Thursday news release. He said that the number of items restricted for violating local law rose to 55,827 items during the second half of 2015, up from 20,568 during the first half of last year. "Restricted content in this [second] half is almost entirely due to one photo related to the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris," he said. "The photo was alleged to violate French laws related to protecting human dignity." Access was restricted to more than 32,000 copies of the photo in France alone in response to a legal request from the government there, he added. In the U.S., there were a total of 19,235 government requests -- including court orders, emergency disclosures, search warrants, subpoenas and others -- for 30,041 user accounts during the second half of 2015, Facebook's report said. The social media company had fewer than 500 total national security letter requests for fewer than 500 user accounts during this period -- same as the first-half period. By law, Facebook can provide national security data only in ranges and had to delay releasing data on Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act requests, the company said in the report. Sonderby wrote that the company doesn't provide "back doors" or direct access to users' data. Facebook reviews each request "for legal sufficiency" and if it "appears to be deficient or overly broad, we push back hard and will fight in court, if necessary," he added.