Yahoo subjected to 12,000 data requests in six months under Prism

CEO Marrissa Mayer calls for government to reconsider its stance on FISA

Yahoo has become the latest firm to reveal the number of data requests it received from US government agencies, with between 12,000 and 13,000 made from 1 December 2012 to 31 May this year.

It follows both Apple and Facebook revealing the number of data requests they received to comply with the US government's ‘Prism Project', which saw it collecting data about citizens without their express consent.

A blog post made on Yahoo's Tumblr by CEO Marrissa Mayer and general counsel Ron Bell reveals that the most common cause of data requests were made under the terms of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and other policies. Most of the requests surrounded fraud, homicides, kidnappings and other criminal investigations.

"Like all companies, Yahoo cannot lawfully break out FISA request numbers at this time because those numbers are classified; however, we strongly urge the federal government to reconsider its stance on this issue," reads the blog, adding, "Democracy demands accountability".

In the interests of accountability, Yahoo pledges to release its first bi-annual "global law enforcement transparency report" this summer.

While Google and Twitter have yet to post details about data requests made under FISA, Yahoo says it has chosen to reveal the requests in order to remain accountable to its users.

"As always, we will continually evaluate whether further actions can be taken to protect the privacy of our users and our ability to defend it. We appreciate – and do not take for granted – the trust you place in us," Mayer and Bell concluded.