Google Outlines Use of NSL Requests by FBI for User Identity Data
Google received fewer than 1,000 requests per year over the past four years from the FBI and other government agencies for information via National Security Letters, according to officials with the search giant.
National Security Letters (NSLs) do not carry the weight of a subpoena, but can be issued by government agencies when investigating matters of national security. The letters can be used to request non-content information, such as phone numbers dialed or addresses emailed. The recipients of the letter are subject to gag orders banning them from revealing the letter's existence.
NSLs have been in use since before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but their use has increased since that day, according to Google officials. For the first time, Google now is including them in the company's annual Transparency Report, though in a fairly broad way. Rather than giving exact numbers that could violate a rule regarding secrecy surrounding NSLs, the company instead is offering a wide range on the numbers of NSLs that have been sent to Google and the number of users these requests affect.
