Twitter received only 2% more government requests for user information during the six months ending in June of this year than it did in the second half of 2015, the company said on Wednesday.
Overall, Twitter has received 5,676 requests for information, such as law enforcement search warrants and subpoenas, in the first half of 2016, according the company’s latest transparency report. Twitter said it provided at least some information for 69% of the requests.
The U.S. Remains the biggest source of government requests for information, or 44% of all requests. However, as compared to its data for the second half of 2015, the number of requests by U.S. Authorities fell by 152 to 2,520 for the first six months of 2016.
Japan was No. 2 in requests followed by the U.K., France, and Turkey. There was also a spike in requests from Belgium following the terrorist attacks there in March, the report said.
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This latest report also now includes a breakdown of information requests for video apps Vine and Periscope, the Twitter-owned live video broadcasting services. According to Twitter, it received 25 information requests for Vine accounts in the first half of this year and 47 requests for Periscope accounts. Both are included in the Twitter’s total number of requests for that period. The company disclosed at least some information in 75% of cases involving Vine accounts and 45% for Periscope. The requests for Vine are not surprising, as the video streaming service has become an increasingly popular tool for documenting protests, the aftermath of terrorism attacks, and other current events.
Twitter also notes that it has received about 13% fewer requests by the government and other parties such as lawyers for removing or withholding content. In all, it received 5,195 such requests in the first six months of 2016.
Check out Twitter’s full transparency report here.
