Facebook publishes transparency reports on a regular basis, much like a lot of other companies such as Apple. These companies publish reports like these because of the fact that they feel like these insights will help them level with users regarding how much control they have over their data, as well as informing users about the kind of requests that have been made by other companies as well as governments with regards to the personal information that you leave about you when you surf the web.
According to the latest transparency report published by the social media giant, governments have been requesting data more than ever as of late. Law enforcement authorities do this because of the fact that these social media companies tend to possess a lot of detailed information about users, and governments need this information for things like security as well as cracking down on crime, although many people would consider these attempts to be tantamount to spying on average citizens.
Facebook publishes this report to tell users how much of their information is being requested by these state entities, and as a result of this fact we now know that the total number of government requests for data was about 128,000 during the first half of the year 2019.
The reason that this number is so important is because of the fact that it is actually 16% higher than the numbers we saw during the half that preceded the one that was just mentioned in the transparency report.
Similarly, Facebook's Transparency page highlights that United States, India, Brazil and United Kingdom are the top four countries that appeal too many users data requests comparatively other governments around the world.
Facebook also shares its Internet Disruptions stats that delineates how restricting internet connectivity limiting "people's ability to access the internet or specific websites and apps". According to the Facebook's transparency report page India is topping the chart when it comes to preventing people "from sharing and communicating with their family and friends and create barriers for businesses." The data shows that unstable situation in Jammu and Kashmir is impacting the availability of Facebook products in the region.
It’s good to know that Facebook is being open with users about this aspect of their platform if nothing else, and the trend among governments to try and use social media platforms as intelligence gathering facilities is rather concerning and should definitely be addressed by the powers that be.
Read next: Facebook rolls out Facebook Pay for American users
According to the latest transparency report published by the social media giant, governments have been requesting data more than ever as of late. Law enforcement authorities do this because of the fact that these social media companies tend to possess a lot of detailed information about users, and governments need this information for things like security as well as cracking down on crime, although many people would consider these attempts to be tantamount to spying on average citizens.
Facebook publishes this report to tell users how much of their information is being requested by these state entities, and as a result of this fact we now know that the total number of government requests for data was about 128,000 during the first half of the year 2019.
The reason that this number is so important is because of the fact that it is actually 16% higher than the numbers we saw during the half that preceded the one that was just mentioned in the transparency report.
Similarly, Facebook's Transparency page highlights that United States, India, Brazil and United Kingdom are the top four countries that appeal too many users data requests comparatively other governments around the world.
- Also read: The interference by government and civilian actors is limiting internet freedom for users
Facebook also shares its Internet Disruptions stats that delineates how restricting internet connectivity limiting "people's ability to access the internet or specific websites and apps". According to the Facebook's transparency report page India is topping the chart when it comes to preventing people "from sharing and communicating with their family and friends and create barriers for businesses." The data shows that unstable situation in Jammu and Kashmir is impacting the availability of Facebook products in the region.
It’s good to know that Facebook is being open with users about this aspect of their platform if nothing else, and the trend among governments to try and use social media platforms as intelligence gathering facilities is rather concerning and should definitely be addressed by the powers that be.
Read next: Facebook rolls out Facebook Pay for American users
