Microsoft releases biannual digital trust reports

Today, Microsoft is releasing its most recent biannual digital trust reports on the Microsoft Reports Hub. These reports consist of the Law Enforcement Requests ReportU.S. National Security Orders Report and Content Removal Requests Report.

The Law Enforcement Requests Report and the U.S. National Security Orders Report, which cover the period from January to June 2017, are largely consistent with previous reports:

  • During the first half of 2017, Microsoft received a total number of 25,367 legal requests for customer information from law enforcement agencies, which is a slight decrease from the previous six-month period.
  • A majority of the law enforcement demands Microsoft received during this period continued to come from a handful of countries, including the U.S., United Kingdom, France and Germany.
  • For the latest Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) data reported (which is June – December 2016), Microsoft received 0-499 FISA orders seeking content disclosures affecting 13,000 – 13,499 accounts, compared to the 0-499 FISA orders seeking disclosure of content impacting 12,000-12,499 accounts reported for the previous period. We received 0-499 National Security Letters in the latest reporting period, which remains unchanged from the previous period.

The latest Content Removal Requests Report details acceptance rates regarding requests to remove content from governments, copyright holders and individuals subject to the European Union’s “Right to Be Forgotten” ruling and victims of non-consensual pornography.

At Microsoft, we believe customers deserve to understand our policies for responding to government requests for their data. This transparency not only makes us as a company more accountable, but it builds trust in technology and helps to inform policymakers as they look to modernize laws that impact our customers. For more information about Microsoft’s principles, policies and procedures for responding to government requests for data, please visit our Data Law website.

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