Facebook released the Global Government Requests Report which they release bi-annually that seeks to inform people about the surveillance requests made to the company from government agencies. The company released data for the first half of this year and it is quite interesting.
According to the report, from all over the world requested for data from individual accounts rose by 18%. However the company always seeks to restrict some of these requests which “violate local laws” of which they increased by a huge margin (112%) as compared to the same period last year.
In the case for Kenya, Facebook received a total of 5 requests for data for 6 users of which only 20% of the requests were honoured by the social network. Facebook clearly said that “we scrutinize each request we receive for legal sufficiency, whether from an authority in the US, Europe, or elsewhere”. They also say that if the request is “overboard or deficient”, they will fight in court so as to protect their user’s information. They only “respond to valid requests relating to criminal cases”
The company also has another trick up its sleeve in alerting its users if “ your account has been targeted or compromised by an attacker suspected of working on behalf of a nation-state.”. Facebook, like any other social network take privacy seriously, and in the world where privacy online seems to be hazy in a way, its good they are taking steps to secure your privacy online. Don’t worry about your online activities, as long as yo’re not doing anything illegal, Facebook says they will be working with partners worldwide to protect your safety and security.
