Dropbox lets users know about government activity regarding their data
We've grown accustomed to "transparency" reports in the wake of the Edward Snowden revelations. We all now realize we are being watched and listened to, and that tech companies like Google and Microsoft, complicit or not, have given up user data, though the latter is currently fighting a court order to do so.
"Over the past year, revelations about government surveillance have shown that we need more transparency into when and how government agencies get access to people’s information online", states Bart Volkmer of Dropbox.
The cloud storage service is releasing its latest report to let users know what has been happening regarding recent activity. The numbers are not terrible, but nobody would be thrilled with them either.
Some of stats include 120 search warrants received, 109 subpoenas, and two court orders. Other data isn't so easy to come by thanks to current restrictions on reporting it. For instance, the company can only let us know that it received somewhere between none and 249 National Security Requests.
The company points out that "the rate of government data requests received per user remains steady -- this means that the number of requests received grew proportionately to Dropbox’s user base". It also lets customers know that it is continuously asked by the government not to notify users when their data is requested, even though the feds have no right to do so. It states that a warrant is required and data will not be handed over without it.
The cloud service is also pushing for a bill currently in the works that will better protect user data. "A bill currently in Congress would do just that by reining in bulk data collection by the US government and allowing online services to be more transparent about the government data requests they receive". It remains to be seen where that will go.
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