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Microsoft: We Offer Up User Data To Law Enforcement 2 Percent of the Time
Nerval's Lobster writes "In its second announcement of the kind, Microsoft revealed [Friday] that it received more than 37,000 requests for information on customers of its Skype, Azure and other services from law enforcement agencies around the world. The count does not include requests made using "National Security Letters" issued by the FBI or other U.S. federal agencies that have the force of a warrant or subpoena, albeit without the oversight or control provided by the courts that issue those sorts of orders. During the first six months of 2013, Microsoft received 37,196 requests that covered a total of 66,539 customer accounts. The company refused to provide any information in response to 21 percent of those requests. It provided "non-content data" in response to 77 percent of the requests – non-content data usually includes information such as names or basic subscriber information rather than information on the content of messages or other details describing online activity of those customers. In 2.19 percent of cases, however, Microsoft reports having provided "customer content data" – which includes the content of messages or data stored in accounts owned by Microsoft companies. Ninety-two percent of requests for customer content came from U.S. law-enforcement agencies."
Amazing how they thought the Scroogled attack ads were a good idea when they're handing nearly everything over too.
Waiting for an amusing sig.
What the summary actually says is that they offer up user data to law enforcement 77% of the time.
And what percentage of the overall information did they actually include in the 2% of requests?
I've never heard the expression "customer content data" before. It seems to exclude metadata, which is one of the major things that the NSA spectacle is about.
Basically, given the things they cannot say anything about (even to deny), it's fairly clear that Microsoft is handing everything over to the NSA (which isn't a law-enforcement agency, you'll note) using an automated mechanism. Probably one that the NSA constructed themselves, having access to everything Microsoft has and is (also known as "full coöperation").
"Ninety-two percent of requests for customer content came from U.S. law-enforcement agencies."
The remaining 8% of request came from various Mafia agencies, I suppose. This raises the obvious question: did Microsoft comply with them in the same proportions as with requests coming from U.S. law-enforcement agencies?
Nuffsaid
________
Don't know about his cat, but Schroedinger is definitely dead.
wtf ? as if that is not user-data. ? This is just Microsoft new-speak so they can say they "only" offer up 2% user-data instead of the 79% it really is.
Putting your data under someone else's control risks them disclosing that data, losing that data, or anything else they want to do. It is in effect no longer yours.
If you want privacy, send end-to-end encrypted texts and emails. Don't store data you care about in any unencrypted form in "the cloud". If we all collectively make it easier for such abuses to happen, they WILL happen. We have to take back the internet, and that won't be done without a change of mentality.
Even Slashdot's editors don't know the value of metadata, calling it "non-content data", at least on the front page post? Click through the link and read the sub-headline: "Microsoft provided metadata in 77 percent of more than 37,000 law-enforcement requests for information".
Your metadata is as valuable as the content. Otherwise, why would the NSA and Facebook invest so much in it?
A non-warrant with the force of a warrant...talk about your 4th Amendment workarounds!
If there is enough lack of urgency to bother drafting a letter, why is there not enough time to seek a proper warrant?
That's a rhetorical question. I think most people can infer the real answer.
Scruting the inscrutable for over 50 years.
The lack of resistance is so much more so. A big chance to see if we live in a free country, and we're blowing it. What kind of reflection is that on us?
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
Where I used to work we gave 100% IF THERE WAS A COURT ORDER. Otherwise we gave nothing. There should be no exception.
One time police officers came in asking for data and they were escorted out with the insight that we would get the data aside and IF they would be coming back within the week with a court order, we would have it ready. If later, we would have to look for it again.
More then once have I told officials to take a hike. And this about serious crimes where I am completely willing to go the extra mile once they give me the court order.
The issue I have is that if I would give the information without a court order, I would be guilty of breaking the law. However they are still allowed to ask for it and they do, trying to use their imaginary authority to impress some who might be more gullible.
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
having to file everything in triplicate was already stupid but the poor feds have to send 50 letters everytime they want a copy of MS' db. :(
2% of requests overall get message content, or 2% of requests that specifically ask for message content?
It'd be in Microsoft's interest to dilute the hell out of this number.
They give up data 79% of the time, more than 200 times per day.
And this is just the things they are allowed to tell us.
We still have no idea how much other data they give secretly 100% ???
Help yourself to the data : 98% of the time
My ism, it's full of beliefs.
Microsoft are the best good guys in the world and that Linux is a horrible person that can't say developers four times in a row!
My ism, it's full of beliefs.
"however - this is just the LEGALLY requested "
Legally? I\'m sorry that's an ambiguous word right now, please define further. Lavabit as an example. I suspect the NSA wanted enough access to spoof emails from Snowden, is that legal access?? They could spoof an email, they could 'leak' something bad to create a prosecution case for Snowden that way. Would you consider that legal?... I think we're in a weird world now where illegal means something other than 'against the laws'.
If the laws of the land were important, General Alexander would be in prison for life right now and Clapper would be rotting in a jail. GCHQ management would be in the Tower of London.
I basically agree with your second (main) point. MS can't tell all the times they've been forced into spying for the NSA, so they talk about the times they were 'just asked' and it's 2%. So 2% of the time they gave in to hackers ringing in pretending to be police officers. All you have to do is ask them 50 different ways and they'll give you some user data... without a court order.
The other 98% of the time Law Enforcement actually requests it first!
Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
If MS satisfies only 2% of the requests, it means that the requestor has to send them, on average, 50 copies of the same request. MS then rejects the first 49 copies and approves the last one.
But, as other posters already said, what is MS doing by deciding which requests to satisfy? MS is not part of the justice system in the USA. They should only respond to proper, court-authorized orders, and reject all others. I cannot imagine that 98% of all requests come from rent-a-cops from the mall. So who is it that sends toothless requests, and on what authority they do it?
Complete bullshit, they "forgot" to tell most important things like snoopers are still there and NSA gets 100% of the data without even requesting it. Skype was made "police friendly", so that communications are easily intercepted by LEA without any requests in many countries (USA and Russia including).
It's not like Microsoft is evil, not only Microsoft. Interesting thing is that the most complete and capable tracking/snooping system was build not in ... the USA. Secretly. But it's capable of tracking anyone and all together without any court warrants. Designed to be easily abused so that even low ranked goblins can snoop on their girlfriends, even with no punishment when caught.
I can hear the fapping from here, originating at NSa.... OIJSD
FJOFIJF OISDJSIJ()#$*@)#NO CARRIER
.. the data, like they used to offer the heads of the enemy as a gift, on a silver plate.
Think about it, I'm sure this is happening.