Yahoo Says US Governement Made 13,000 Requests For User Data

After claims that the NSA have been tapping directly into the central servers of some of the leading US Internet companies, the companies in question have denied any involvement. Google, Apple, Facebook and Yahoo, to name just a few, have all denied any involvement but some of them have been asking for permission to reveal how many requests they have received from the government for user data.

Yahoo is the latest company to reveal just how many requests they have had. In the period from 1 December 2012 and 31 May 2013, Yahoo say they received between 12,000 and 13,000 requests. The most common related to fraud, homicides, kidnappings and other criminal investigations. This announcement follows Apple, who said on Monday that in the same period, they received between 4,000 and 5,000 requests.

Along with Twitter and Google, Yahoo have also requested permission from the US government to allow FISA requests to be reported seperately. FISA requests are considered more controversial due to the secrecy surrounding them imposed by the government.

CEO of Yahoo, Marissa Mayer along with general counsel Ron Bell ,said in a blogpost: “Like all companies, Yahoo cannot lawfully break out FISA request numbers at this time because those numbers are classified; however, we strongly urge the federal government to reconsider its stance on this issue.”

[Image via indianmobiletele.blogspot.co.uk]

SOURCE: Reuters