Twitter has seen a massive increase in government data requests

The first of Twitter’s biyearly transparency reports has been released and it shows us that the company has seen a massive surge in the number of government requests for user data. The number of requests has increased by more than 40% with governments from over 50 countries trying to get a hold of user information. 

Twitter on Monday released its twice-yearly transparency report, showing a surge in government requests for users’ Twitter information. The report, which discloses the frequency with which government agencies from around the world ask Twitter to hand over data on specific users, said total requests rose by 40 percent, to about 2,871, compared with the company’s last report, in July. The latest requests came from more than 50 countries. Since Google first began disclosing such government requests for data four years ago, many major tech companies, including Facebook, Twitter and Microsoft have followed suit.