Facebook Releases Data, Including All National Security Requests

[Hissyspit]

Source: Facebook Press Release

Facebook Releases Data, Including All National Security Requests

June 14, 2013
By Ted Ullyot, Facebook General Counsel

Over the last week, in press statements as well as Mark’s post last Friday, we’ve repeatedly called for governments worldwide to be willing to provide more details about programs aimed at keeping the public safe. We’ve also urged them to allow companies to divulge appropriate information about government orders and requests that we receive, in a manner that does not compromise legitimate security concerns.

Requests from law enforcement entities investigating national security-related cases are by their nature classified and highly sensitive, and the law traditionally has placed significant constraints on the ability of companies like Facebook to even confirm or acknowledge receipt of these requests – let alone provide details of our responses.

We’ve reiterated in recent days that we scrutinize every government data request that we receive – whether from state, local, federal, or foreign governments. We’ve also made clear that we aggressively protect our users’ data when confronted with such requests: we frequently reject such requests outright, or require the government to substantially scale down its requests, or simply give the government much less data than it has requested. And we respond only as required by law.

But particularly in light of continued confusion and inaccurate reporting related to this issue, we’ve advocated for the ability to say even more.

Since this story was first reported, we’ve been in discussions with U.S. national security authorities urging them to allow more transparency and flexibility around national security-related orders we are required to comply with. We’re pleased that as a result of our discussions, we can now include in a transparency report all U.S. national security-related requests (including FISA as well as National Security Letters) – which until now no company has been permitted to do. As of today, the government will only authorize us to communicate about these numbers in aggregate, and as a range. This is progress, but we’re continuing to push for even more transparency, so that our users around the world can understand how infrequently we are asked to provide user data on national security grounds.

For the six months ending December 31, 2012, the total number of user-data requests Facebook received from any and all government entities in the U.S. (including local, state, and federal, and including criminal and national security-related requests) – was between 9,000 and 10,000. These requests run the gamut – from things like a local sheriff trying to find a missing child, to a federal marshal tracking a fugitive, to a police department investigating an assault, to a national security official investigating a terrorist threat. The total number of Facebook user accounts for which data was requested pursuant to the entirety of those 9-10 thousand requests was between 18,000 and 19,000 accounts.

Read more: http://newsroom.fb.com/News/636/Facebook-Releases-Data-Including-All-National-Security-Requests

[Electric Monk]

1. CIA's 'Facebook' Program Dramatically Cut Agency's Costs

CIA calls Facebook 'Reason we invented the internet'

Yes, I know it's The Onion, but hey, sometimes the best way to make a point is with a 'joke'.

[newthinking]

2. So how would we know what they release is really all of them anyway?

Since their primary objective will be public relations and reducing the damage, and that aligns perfectly with the interests of the government. And if all the details are not released they would still have to lie and say that there were no more, because any not allowed to be released are still under secrecy laws?

[struggle4progress]

3. For 500 million users (about 250 million of them on Facebook daily)

that's monthly requests for info on about 0.0006% of the users or about 0.0012% of the daily users

[Cronus Protagonist]

4. Was one of these requests, "Give us it all now and all the time and never tell anyone"?

I'm just curious.

If not, let me think of another 18000 possible "requests" that some of these might have been.

[tinrobot]

16. This.

n/t

[Javaman]

5. I was thinking of dumping faceplant, now I will. nt

[BenzoDia]

6. If true, then this hardly sounds like a grand conspiracy.

Especially these lines:

But particularly in light of continued confusion and inaccurate reporting related to this issue, we’ve advocated for the ability to say even more.

This is progress, but we’re continuing to push for even more transparency, so that our users around the world can understand how infrequently we are asked to provide user data on national security grounds.

[PSPS]

7. This doesn't mean NSA access to Facebook itself is limited in any way

These are requests merely for identification of account owner. All Facebook traffic, as well as all internet traffic of any kind, is entirely swept up and stored.

In other words, the attempt to portray the misrepresentation of the phrase "direct access" as somehow indicative of no malfeasance, is a canard. The fact it that all internet backbones are tapped by the NSA who stores everything traveling on it including traffic of any kind intended for Facebook, GMail, etc. "Direct access" to, say, Facebook isn't even needed any more than "direct access" to a telephone is necessary to tap it. You just need to hook into the wires or, in this case, the internet backbones.

[OnyxCollie]

10. +1 nt

[Coyotl]

8. One hundred Facebook accounts per day turned over to authorities, approximately.

And each of those people have how many Friends and Friends of Friends whose every post then becomes visible, etc...

[davidpdx]

9. Facebook did the right thing releasing what they could

Sadly it will just lead to more conspiracy theories.

[temmer]

14. What "conspiracy theories"?

Can you elaborate?

[davidpdx]

15. I'm not saying I know conspiracy theories

But given the story about the information being released it will lead to them. Sorry if I didn't make that clear.

[alp227]

11. Reuters story

Facebook, Microsoft reveal surveillance request figures

Facebook and Microsoft have struck agreements with the US government to release limited information about the number of surveillance requests they receive, a modest victory for the companies as they struggle with the fallout from disclosures about a secret government data-collection program.

Facebook on Friday became the first to release aggregate numbers of requests, saying in a blog post it received between 9,000 and 10,000 US requests for user data in the second half of 2012, covering 18,000 to 19,000 of its users' accounts. Facebook has more than 1.1 billion users worldwide.

[snot]

12. How in the world did authorities identify 19,000 accounts as being of interest?

Just what were the criteria?

And I'd like to know how many were involved in Occupy.

[muriel_volestrangler]

13. From that - most requests for Microsoft were probably 'national security'

Microsoft said it had received requests of all types for information on about 31,000 consumer accounts in the second half of 2012. In a "transparency report" Microsoft published earlier this year without including national security matters, it said it had received criminal requests involving 24,565 accounts for the whole of 2012.

If half of those requests came in the second part of the year, the intelligence requests constitute the bulk of government inquiries. Microsoft did not dispute that conclusion.

[treestar]

17. Facebook is so public anyway

Hard to believe it is that common for Facebook to have anything that will lead to solving a crime.

There are some political sites that might give hints about who belongs to extremist groups.