Apple Wishes It Could Tell You More About US Government Info Requests

Like everybody and their sister in Silicon Valley, Apple is now publishing transparency reports. The Cupertino company’s first ever disclosure on the number of government information requests just hit the web, and like everybody else, the number of requests from the U.S. government is super high.

We’re talking super high here. While the United Kingdom came in as the runner up, with 127 requests from law enforcement agencies, the United States boasts between 1,000 and 2,000 requests. (See the full breakdown below.) Apple was not able to reveal the exact number, because it’s currently illegal to do so—a fact that makes Apple sad. The company wrote in the report:

We strongly oppose this gag order, and Apple has made the case for relief from these restrictionsin meetings and discussions with the White House, the U.S. Attorney General, congressional leaders, and the courts. Despite our extensive efforts in this area, we do not yet have an agreement that we feel adequately addresses our customers’ right to know how often and under what circumstances we provide data to law enforcement agencies.

Apple’s joined companies like Google and Facebook to try and get that gag order reversed. Until then, just know that the U.S. government is hungry for user data—very hungry. Of course, we really already knew that. [Apple via TNW]

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Image via AP