Apple Inc. has published a report regarding governments requesting user information including statistics and the company's stance on the topic.
The Cupertino-based organization's report stated Apple customers ought to be aware about how their details are taken care of as the issue of privacy grows worldwide.
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"We believe that our customers have a right to understand how their personal information is handled, and we consider it our responsibility to provide them with the best privacy protections available," introduced Apple's "Report on Government Information Requests."
The report compiles of requests from multiple governments spanning the world seeking information about an individual and/or their Apple device. Apple noted the report is in the "interest of transparency" for their customers worldwide.
An important statement in the report comes in the report's second paragraph, which read, "We have reported all the information we are legally allowed to share, and Apple will continue to advocate for greater transparency about the requests we receive."
The Cupertino organization stated they provide its customers a "single, straightforward" policy regarding privacy that covers all Apple products. The report revealed privacy is among the first topics of consideration when developing a new design for its products and services, such as Find My iPhone and Touch ID.
Apple said it has no interest in "amassing' a customer's personal information.
The company highlighted it protects personal conversations with "end-to-end" encryption for FaceTime and iMessage as well as not storing location data from map searches, and Siri requests.
Apple did reveal that while compiling its transparency report, the U.S. government did not allow Apple the right to disclose the number of orders for customer information, except in "broad ranges." The U.S. government's gag on Apple's disclosure includes revealing the number of accounts or type of content were affected by their orders
"We strongly oppose this gag order, and Apple has made the case for relief from these restrictions in meetings and discussions with the White House, the U.S. Attorney General, congressional leaders, and the courts," added Apple's transparency report. "Despite our extensive efforts in this area, we do not yet have an agreement that we feel adequately addresses our customers' right to know how often and under what circumstances we provide data to law enforcement agencies."
Instead of filing a lawsuit against the U.S. government, Apple stated it believes "dialogue and advocacy" are the "most productive" approach in changing policies.
Apple disclosed that many companies have received similar requests for customer data. The Cupertino-based company reassured that any governmental agency seeking a customer's information must be accompanied with a court order. However, a court order is not necessary if the government issued a National Security Letter (NSL). While NSL cannot be used to obtain a customer's information, it can be used to receive a consumer's contact information.
Upon receiving a government's order, Apple's lawyers are put to the test in ensuring the legitimacy of the court order.
"Only when we are satisfied that the court order is valid and appropriate do we deliver the narrowest possible set of information responsive to the request," the transparency reported noted.
In regards to the type of information the government requests, Apple stated only a "small fraction" relate to iCloud, iTunes, or Game Center account. Most of the requests are for the customer's personal data and use of an online service, of which they expect to have their privacy respected. The government's request includes emails, stored photographs, and other content by the user stored online.
Within the transparency report, Apple revealed law enforcement agency requests from Jan. 1 to June 30 from this year. The information Apple revealed, however, is only data the U.S. government gave permission for the Cupertino organization to present.
The report presented two separate tables with the first being "account requests" and second on "device requests."
Account requests are usually in order when robbery and other crimes are reported. Cases that also occur in the account requests category include search for missing people, finding a kidnapping victim, or preventing a suicide.
Account request information usually consists of a person's name and address, which can be obtained through the holder's iCloud or iTunes.
The device requests category may include requests for a customer's contact information provided to a registered Apple device.
For both tables provides by Apple, the Cupertino-based organization confirmed the countries that have requested information, and the number of law enforcement account requests they received.
The countries that have contacted Apple for customer information include Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Cyrpus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, San Marino, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), United Kingdom (U.K.), and United States (U.S.).
A country's request can be as low as one order, as seen by Bahamas, Belarus, Chile, Estonia, Swaziland, and the U.A.E., but can go as high to thousands as seen by the U.S.
In regards to account requests, the U.S. requested specific "account request" information from 2,000 to 3,000 people. Apple, however, did not reveal the percentage of requests which data were disclosed. Unlike the U.S., for example, the U.K. requested 141 specific account requests, but Apple disclosed only 37 percent of data.
The number of products specified by the U.S. government to be disclosed by Apple reached over 8,600 devices. Apple was able to reveal the percentage of information they had to provide, which stood at 88 percent.
Apple noted some countries were not listed in the report since the company did not receive information request from that respective government. Finally, Apple noted they have never received an order based on Section 215 of the U.S. Patriot Act, and would change the order if served.
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