• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, September 16, 2014

Demand for information from Google and YouTube from United States authorities rose 19% during the first six months in 2014, and 150% since the company first began publishing this data in 2009. Worldwide, the numbers are 15% and 150%, respectively.

Google revealed in its latest Transparency Report that it continues to face pressure from governments worldwide for request for information to use in ongoing investigations and surveillance programs. 

Between January and June 2014, Google records that 31,698 requests were made, 65% resulting in the company's release of  some data. In the U.S. the report lists wiretap orders, emergency disclosures, search warrants, subpoena, pen register order, and other court orders.

This increase in government demands comes against a backdrop of ongoing revelations about government surveillance programs, but it's interesting to note that some countries continue to expand their surveillance policies in an attempt to reach service providers outside their borders. The efforts of the U.S. Department of Justice and other country efforts to improve diplomatic cooperation will help reduce the perceived need for these laws, but much more remains to be done, per Richard Salgado, legal director, law enforcement and information security at Google.

Salgado calls for legislative reform to ensure transparent surveillance, reasonably scoped by law, and independent oversight.

Referring to the Transparency Report in a post, Salgado calls on Congress to update the Electronic Communications Privacy Act to make it clear that the government must obtain a search warrant before it can compel a service provider to disclose the content of a user’s communication. Legislation introduced by Representatives Yoder, Graves, and Polis; and Senators Leahy and Lee would create a warrant-for-content standard that protects the Fourth Amendment rights of Internet users.

"This common-sense reform is now supported by a broad range of consumer groups, trade associations, and companies that comprise the Digital Due Process coalition," he wrote. "Additionally, more than 100,000 people have signed a petition urging the White House to back this bill, which enjoys bipartisan support from 266 House Members (well over a majority of the House) and passed the Senate Judiciary Committee in April 2013."