Privacy Rights: Google user data requests from authorities soar

Governments and courts around the world have increased their requests for Google user data by 70 per cent since 2009, Google reports.

In Google's latest Transparency Report this week, the company showed it had received 21,389 requests for information about 33,634 users between July and December 2012, a rise from 12,539 during the same period three years earlier.

Google has released the reports every six months since 2010, saying "it's important for people to understand how government actions affect them."

U.S. authorities made 40 per cent of the requests in the latest report, which targeted 44 per cent of the users, under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. Google broke down the U.S. data for the first time to show that:

• 68 per cent were subpoenas requesting information to identify users.
• 22 per cent were search warrants.
• 10 per cent were court orders.

Read more: Google user data requests from authorities soar - Business - CBC News