A study by Surfshark shows that governments are increasing demands for personal user data.
How big tech companies handle user data has long been controversial. Meta, Apple, Google and Microsoft are often accused of collecting and selling users’ personal data. However, it remains unclear exactly where this data goes and how much of it is given to companies and governments.
Apple Becomes The Company That Provides Least Data
According to research by Surfshark, there is an increase in government demands for personal user data. Focusing on the time period from 2013 to 2021, the research reveals that the most significant increase was seen in 2020 with 38 percent, and a 25 percent increase was experienced in 2021.
While Meta, Microsoft, Apple and Google were the four big technology companies considered during the survey, Meta officials showed the most interest. Government officials requested data from Meta for 6.6 million accounts during the research process.
On the other hand, Apple was the company that provided the least amount of data with only 416 thousand accounts requested from global authorities.
The study shows that 60 percent of requests come from officials in the United States and Europe. But according to the data, the US requested twice as many accounts per 100,000 users than all the countries in the EU combined. The United States is in the top spot, followed by Germany, Singapore, the United Kingdom and France. According to the report, data requests are often related to criminal investigations as well as civil or administrative cases where digital data is required.
Making a statement on the subject, Surfshark privacy consultant Gabriele Kaveckyte said that in addition to data requests, authorities are also looking for ways to monitor and respond to crime through online services.
The research report shows that the rate of user data disclosure by technology companies has increased by nearly 71 percent.
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