Is there any doubt in anyone's mind that the U.S. government's demand for electronic data directly correlates with the rapid advances taking place in technology? The better the capability to collect and store data, the more they want to collect and store data. Of course, the U.S. government is leading the pack in the global intelligence gathering race. Contrary to popular belief, no one else is even close both in technological capabilities, and desire to capture every byte of electronic communication ever sent. I suppose it does help when most of that data travels through the U.S. via the main internet 'backbone.'
Government demands for user data have rocketed by 150 percent in five years, Google warned in its latest transparency report.
The figures published on Monday show that worldwide numbers for data have increased by 15 percent in the second half of 2013 alone, amounting to a spike of close to two-times the requests Google first received when it published its debut report in 2009.
The U.S. government, even in the wake of the Edward Snowden surveillance disclosures, hasn't slowed down its thirst for user data, hitting a 250 percent increase in "ordinary" data demands since 2009.
Included in those "ordinary" data requests are subpoenas, search warrants, and court orders. Not included are top-secret and classified FISA warrants and National Security Letters. (NSL)
ZD Net
These shadowy government requests are so secret that companies are not allowed to disclose when they have received one. That said, thanks to new rules issued by the Justice Dept., these figures can be disclosed in aggregate but not for the most recent six month period — allowing for ongoing government investigations to continue.
Google's transparency report showed for the first time nine countries — including Egypt, Indonesia, and the little-known British territory of Guernsey — asked the search giant to turn over user data for the first time, following in the footsteps of most Western nations.
Although the latest FISA figures are not yet out, the last reported range between July to December 2013 said there were between 0-999 non-content requests for 0-999 users or accounts.
For the same range, there were 0-999 content requests, accounting for between 15,000-15,999 users or accounts.
Google, along with other major tech companies support the
USA Freedom Act (pdf), legislation I outlined in
this diary on Sunday. The bill proposes restrictions on the government's right to collect bulk data, and would also require a team of privacy & civil liberty advocates to work in conjunction with the FISC. Up to now, the court only heard arguments from the government.
"Congress should move now to enact this legislation into law," Google's legal director for law enforcement and information security Richard Salgado said in remarks.
"Congress should also update the Electronic Communications Privacy Act to make it clear that the government must obtain a search warrant before it can compel a service provider to disclose the content of a user’s communication," he added.
Considering the fact that we can't turn back technological advances in electronic data collection, this exponential increase in data requests demands more restrictions on both how it is collected and how it is stored, along with greater oversight from Congress. (no, seriously)