Meta receives 55,497 data requests from Indian govt in H1 2022

The Indian government made 55,497 data requests to Facebook-parent Meta between January to June 2022, up from 45,275 requests a year ago, according to the social media company’s bi-annual Transparency Report for H1 2022. Information on users/accounts sought by the government also grew to 91,159 during the first half of 2022 as compared to 68,485 users/accounts a year ago. 

Meta said it reviews each request carefully for legal sufficiency and asks for more specifics for requests that appear vague. During the first half of 2022, the social media company complied with 66.59% of government requests for data as compared to 51% a year ago. 

The report also reveals that out of the 55,497 data requests, 3,895 were emergency disclosure requests and the rest were legal process requests. 

Data requests by the government were even higher in the US, where a total of 69,363 requests were made by the government and Meta complied with 87.97% of the requests in the first half of 2022. The number of requests for users/accounts in the US was 126,142. The total number of requests by governments across the world was 237,414, up from 211,055 a year ago. 

Under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, intermediaries operating in India are required to provide information under its control within 72 hours of a request made by a government agency for verification of identity or investigation and prevention of criminal activities. 

Intermediaries are also required to publish monthly transparency reports under the same rules to show what action is being taken by them against harmful content. 

On October 31, Meta published its India monthly transparency report for September, which showed that the company had taken action against over 30 million content on Facebook and close to 3 million content on Instagram during September for violating ranging from spam, violent and graphic content, adult nudity and sexual activity, bullying and harassment, and child endangerment.