Several tech companies have reached an agreement with the government over the release of information on surveillance requests, Reuters reports.
From Reuters:
Facebook became the first to release aggregate numbers of requests, saying in a blog post that it received between 9,000 and 10,000 requests for user data in the second half of 2012, covering 18,000 to 19,000 of its users' accounts.
Google and Microsoft are also expected to release numbers of data requests from the government, but will not reveal those originating from the NSA, according to sources speaking to Reuters.
The deal comes in response to pressure from three of the largest internet companies — Facebook, Google, and Microsoft — who sent statements Tuesday to the Justice Department asking for greater transparency in light of allegations of the NSA's "dragnet surveillance" of phone calls, emails, and social network activity.
Google wrote that they had worked "tremendously hard over the past fifteen years to earn [their] users’ trust." Their letter continued:
We therefore ask you to help make it possible for Google to publish in our Transparency Report aggregate numbers of national security requests, including FISA disclosures—in terms of both the number we receive and their scope. Google’s numbers would clearly show that our compliance with these requests falls far short of the claims being made. Google has nothing to hide.
SEE ALSO: ACLU Sues Government Over 'Dragnet' Surveillance Of Americans
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