Apple has disclosed the particulars of customer data sharing requests it has received from governments worldwide, with the U.S. government topping the list
Apple revealed, Tuesday, a public report that lists types and number of requests it has received from governments across the globe, pertaining to "requests related to customer accounts" and "those related to specific devices."
The "Report on Government Information Requests" is available via Apple's website. Per the company, the report has apparently been filed in the "interest of transparency for our customers around the world."
The U.S. government, which reportedly made between 1,000 and 2,000 requests (from January to June), topped the list with the UK coming in second with 127 requests. Apple gave out information on 0 to 1,000 accounts.
This is the first instance of Apple sharing such data. However, the company also revealed that the U.S. government does not permit Apple to disclose all information.
"At the time of this report, the U.S. government does not allow Apple to disclose, except in broad ranges, the number of national security orders, the number of accounts affected by the orders, or whether content, such as emails, was disclosed," revealed the company in the report. "We strongly oppose this gag order, and Apple has made the case for relief from these restrictions in meetings and discussions with the White House, the U.S. Attorney General, congressional leaders, and the courts. Despite our extensive efforts in this area, we do not yet have an agreement that we feel adequately addresses our customers' right to know how often and under what circumstances we provide data to law enforcement agencies."
Apple also clarified that its business "does not depend on collecting personal data."
"We have no interest in amassing personal information about our customers," reads the report. "We protect personal conversations by providing end-to-end encryption over iMessage and FaceTime. We do not store location data, Maps searches, or Siri requests in any identifiable form."
When it comes to total number of law enforcement device information requests received, the U.S. government yet again tops the list with 3,542. Germany comes in second with 2,156 requests, followed by Singapore with 1,498.
