Surfshark has published a comprehensive report on governmental requests for user data involving popular tech companies globally.
The report covers major tech brands like Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Meta, detailing their compliance with data requests which have been on the rise each year.
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Surfshark, TROYPOINT’s #1 Ranked VPN Provider, conducted an analysis of government requests for user data in 177 countries from 2013-2021.
The results revealed a high concentration of data requests in the United States and Europe.
In 2021 alone, the four major tech companies received over 1.5 million data requests, predominantly directed at Google and Meta, with fewer requests for Apple and Microsoft.
It was found that the average disclosure rate between 2013 and 2021 for these companies was around 71%.
This statistic raises concerns as over 70% of government data requests were fulfilled by Apple, Meta, Google, and Microsoft.
Despite receiving fewer requests, Apple had the highest compliance rate, averaging 81%.
Each of the four companies provided user data for more than two-thirds of the requests in the past 8 years, although these percentages varied.
While Google and Meta maintained consistent compliance levels, Apple’s rate increased to over 85% in 2021, and Microsoft reduced its compliance rate to 55% in the same year.
Amazon, a notable absence from the analysis of the Big 5 Tech Companies, was excluded due to irregularities in reporting user data disclosure practices according to Surfshark’s report.
Given the widespread use of Amazon Firestick and Fire TV devices, this omission raises significant concerns.
To access the full report by Surfshark, visit the link provided below.
Surfshark – Report on Government Requests for User Data
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