Microsoft has released a new report today detailing the number of requests it has received from various law enforcement agencies from around the world. Between January and June 2013, the company received 37,196 requests for data. Seventy seven percent of these requests were for data such as IP history, billing address, and the user’s name. Microsoft says that for 21 percent requests it didn’t have to disclose any data. It also mentions that “some” customer content had to be released for 2.19 percent of the requests. Customer content may include photos saved in SkyDrive, subject and body of email and address book information, as per Microsoft’s own definition. Interestingly, 92 percent of such requests were made by the U.S. government.
Companies have focused more on transparency particularly after the blowback from the top secret revelations made by former CIA technical analyst Edward Snowden. In its report, Microsoft mentions that these requests do not include national security orders, since they’re not allowed to reveal certain information about them, though National Security Letters have been listed as part of the aggregate information. The chart posted above details requests made by the U.S. government and Microsoft’s compliance. These 37,196 requests for data have impacted 66,539 accounts, which make up for 0.01 percent of all Microsoft accounts.
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