Google: Government demands for data up 150 per cent since 2009

Twenty-eight per cent of all UK government requests rejected as more and more information is demanded by governments from Google

Internet giant Google is seeing more and more demands from governments around the world for information about users, with total requests increasing by 150 per cent since 2009 globally.

The increase in demands is especially stark in the US, with information requests increasing by 250 per cent since 2009 - excluding demands made under the US National Security Letters and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Google is legally barred from reporting on National Security Letters and FISA court requests.

The increase in information demands by governments comes at the same time that many of them are also expanding their online surveillance activities, according to Google legal director Richard Salgado, writing on Google's Public Policy blog.

"This increase in government demands comes against a backdrop of ongoing revelations about government surveillance programs. Despite these revelations, we have seen some countries expand their surveillance authorities in an attempt to reach service providers outside their borders. Others are considering similar measures," claims Salgado.

These measures, it continued, need to be reformed.

"Governments have a legitimate and important role in fighting crime and investigating national security threats. To maintain public confidence in both government and technology, we need legislative reform that ensures surveillance powers are transparent, reasonably scoped by law, and subject to independent oversight," claimed Salgado.

In the US, the USA Freedom Act would prevent the bulk collection of internet metadata under various legal authorities, according to Google, assuming that the law is respected by the security agencies.

"[It would] allow us to be more transparent about the volume, scope and type of national security demands that we receive, and would create stronger oversight and accountability mechanisms. Congress should move now to enact this legislation into law," urged Salgado.

Salgado continued: "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. Legislation [recently] introduced in the House [of Representatives] ... and the Senate ... would create a warrant-for-content standard that protects the Fourth Amendment rights of internet users."

The US government accounts for some 40 per cent of all requests - excluding FISA court requests and National Security Letters - but in the past year, a number of other governments have also started making demands of Google for the first time, including Albania, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Indonesia, Kosovo, Luxembourg, Maldives, Namibia and Nepal.

Worldwide, Google complied with about 65 per cent of all requests - 84 per cent in the US, with the UK at 72 per cent. This implies that Google regarded more than one-quarter of all information requests made by various UK authorities were illegitimate.

In the UK, meanwhile, the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) has led to an explosion in government snooping, including the Metropolitan Police tapping journalists' phones to find out who their contacts are - without any apparent regulatory authority or oversight.