The most recent Twitter transparency report reveals that more governments than ever are requesting account data, according to Engadget .
One of the key responsibilities of social networks is protecting users’ personal information. However, these social media platforms occasionally have to work with governments and hand over user data. Twitter is now disclosing the rise in government requests for information access from users, particularly journalists.
According to Twitter, between July 2021 and December 2021, government data requests reached all-time highs. Twitter got 47,572 legal requests for 198,931 accounts during this time.
Advertisement Governments frequently target the media and journalists. Requests for access to verified news outlets’ and journalists’ data have climbed 103% since the last report, according to Twitter’s 20th transparency report. Governments requested information from 349 accounts at this time.
Governments are requesting more account data on Twitter than ever before. It shouldn’t be challenging to determine which nations have received the most requests for account data from journalists and the media. According to the data, India is at the top of the list with 114 requests, followed by Turkey with 78 and Russia with 55. 17 tweets could also be suppressed by governments.
Undoubtedly, the United States continues to require more account data than any other country. 20 percent of all requests for account information made worldwide now come from the US. By 18%, Russia is likewise in second place. Russian demands for account data decreased by 20% during the course of the six-month period.
Advertisement Twitter claims to have rejected or severely restricted the requests for account data. For instance, the social network has declined or restricted 31% of US data requests and 60% of global requests. 29 civil attempts to identify anonymous US users could be halted by Twitter by using its First Amendment rights. In two of those situations involving data requests, Twitter also filed lawsuits; thus far, one of those lawsuits has been successful.
It is clear that governments and regimes all around the world now frequently attack journalists. The largest calls for shutting journalist accounts come from nations like India. Twitter was also blocked by Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. Other nations, such as Iran, try to pay out content moderators to delete the accounts of its opponents.
