SINGAPORE: Authorities in the Republic made the highest number of requests for user information on Facebook since data about such requests was first collated, the social media giant announced on Thursday (Nov 12) as part of their Global Government Requests Report.

The Singapore Government made a total of 198 requests for data in the first six months of 2015, an 11.9 per cent increase over July to December 2014. A total of 213 users or accounts were targeted from January to June 2015, compared to 194 in the previous six months – a 9.8 per cent increase.

On a global level, the number of requests submitted by Governments increased by 18 per cent, from 35,051 to 41,214 requests, said Facebook.

A total of 74.62 per cent of the requests in the first six months of 2015 yielded data, Facebook said, adding that it responds to valid requests relating to criminal cases, and that each request is checked for legal sufficiency, while requests that are too broad or vague are rejected or will require greater specificity.

REPORT AIMS TO “PROVIDE MORE TRANSPARENCY”

The social media service released their biannual Global Government Requests Report as part of “a broader effort to reform government surveillance in countries around the world by providing more transparency”.

The report, which started in 2013, provides information about the number of Government requests Facebook receives for data, as well as the number of pieces of content restricted for violating local law in countries around the world where the Facebook service is provided.

In the January to June 2015 report, the United States Government made the most requests for user data, at 17,577 requests. This was followed by India with 5,115 and the United Kingdom with 3,384. Singapore placed 20th overall, out of the 92 countries on the list.

The India Government made the highest number of contest restriction requests at 15,155. This was followed by Turkey with 4,496 requests, and France a distant third with 295 requests. The Singapore Government did not make any content restriction requests from January to June 2015, according to Facebook.

CONTINUED INCREASE IN CONTENT RESTRICTIONS AND GOVERNMENT REQUESTS

Facebook added that it is continuing to see an increase in content restrictions and government requests for data globally.

The amount of content restricted for violating local law increased by 112 per cent over the second half of 2014, to 20,568 pieces of content, up from 9,707. Over the same period, government requests for account data increased across all countries by 18%, from 35,051 requests to 41,214.

In a statement on their website, Chris Sonderby, Facebook Deputy General Counsel said: “As we have emphasised before, Facebook does not provide any government with “back doors” or direct access to people’s data. We scrutinize each request we receive for legal sufficiency, whether from an authority in the US, Europe, or elsewhere. If a request appears to be deficient or overly broad, we push back hard and will fight in court, if necessary.”