Do Twitter, Google share too much info with gov'ts? (poll)
To "celebrate" Data Privacy Day, both Twitter and Google today talked up their transparency reports. Twitter complies with 69 percent of government requests, and Google 88 percent. Is that too much?
To "celebrate" Data Privacy Day today, both Google and Twitter issued transparency reports, detailing how often they comply with government requests for information about users. In the United States, Google said it provided some or all requested information 88 percent of the time, while Twitter -- which says it prizes users' privacy -- did so 69 percent of the time.
Those numbers seem shockingly high, but in Twitter's case at least, privacy advocates at the Electronic Frontier Foundation said they didn't blame the social network for complying with the law. And, the EFF added, Twitter's new transparency report should be a "model" for the Internet industry.
CNET wants to know what you think. Are these numbers outrageous? Or are Google and Twitter -- and other Internet companies -- just doing what the law requires them to do?