The latest Surfshark report analyzes the number of accounts specified in user data requests for Big Tech (Apple, Google, Meta, and Microsoft ) by the local authorities and law enforcement agencies. The cases of requests may be related to criminal investigations, as well as civil or administrative cases when digital evidence is needed. In total, almost 9 million accounts were requested in 190 countries from 2013 to 2022, with a steady increase in the latest years. The research shows that U.S. and EU authorities request data the most.
Over 10 years, the US requested 3.3M accounts to be disclosed by Apple, Meta, Google and Microsoft. Looking at requested accounts per population. the US ranks 1st in the world based on the user accounts requested by authorities over this time period (989 accounts per 100k people), in comparison to Germany (2nd with 850 accounts/100k), UK (4th with 453k accounts/100k) and Australia (12th with 370 accounts/100k). The US made 10 times more requests than the global average (103/100k).
Over the 10 years, companies fully or partially disclosed data from around 1,229,992 requests. The overall disclosure rate in the US is 83%. Meta and Google are the ones that have received the highest number of account requests from authorities in the US.
Global trends show that governments request more user data than ever (38% increase)
The research shows that globally, countries requested almost 9 million accounts combined from Apple, Google, Meta, and Microsoft during a 10-year period. The number of accounts requested increased more than eight times from 2013 to 2022, with 2022 experiencing an increase of around 38% from the previous year.
“Surfshark’s research shows that government requests for user data have increased significantly. The recent Chat Control law proposal by the Council of Europe could significantly expand government access to private individual data. Under this proposal, users would need to consent to having their text messages, audio, and other shared materials scanned before encryption. While it is crucial for authorities to have tools to combat serious crimes, it is also important to ensure that these measures do not infringe on the fundamental right to privacy,” says Goda Sukackaite, Privacy Counsel at Surfshark.
The US and EU account for 58% of all accounts of interest from 2013 to 2022. To compare the two, the US requested more than double the accounts per 100K people than all EU countries combined. Looking at the top 10, half of the countries are from the EU (Germany, France, Ireland, Portugal, and Belgium). Singapore, the UK, South Korea, and Brazil comprise the rest.
Between 2013 and 2022, companies complied with user data requests at an average rate of 72%. Apple has been leading in disclosure rates since 2016, raising them from 75% in 2016 to 83% in 2022. While Apple’s average is 82%, the remaining companies have slightly lower disclosure rates: Google – 72.9%, Meta – 72.8%, and Microsoft – 67%.
