First Twitter Transparency Report Tattles on Uncle Sam

[[Coi] Mr.CLuBBeR]

Good old Uncle Sam can be awfully nosy when he wants to be. The U.S. government poking its head into personal affairs isn't news to most, but it is reiterated by Twitter's first ever transparency report, which was released on Monday just two days ahead of July 4th, otherwise known as Independence Day in the States. Not by coincidence, Twitter notes "July 4th serves an important reminder of the need to hold governments responsible, especially on behalf of those who may not have a chance to do so themselves." Let the fireworks begin.

Twitter said it drew inspiration from the "great work" done by Google, and with that in mind, the goal is to shed light on how often the governments around the world request information for user information and to withhold content, as well as the number of DMCA takedown notices it receives from copyright holders.

Dating back to the beginning of the year, Twitter's transparency report reveals the microblogging service received 849 user information requests, 679 of which came from the U.S. government. Officials in Japan were the second most curious, accounting for 98 requests for user information.

"We've received more government requests in the first half of 2012... than in the entirety of 2011," Twitter noted. "Moving forward, we'll be publishing an updated version of this information twice a year."

Twitter doesn't always comply with user information and takedown requests, though the microblogging service didn't attach a number or percentage to how often it does.

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