Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Yahoo, and Microsoft have revealed previously unseen data on requests for user information made by the National Security Agency (NSA). The requests are made under the controversial law called the Foreign Surveillance Intelligence Act (FISA).
Time reports that the disclosures come a week after the companies and the national government agreed to be more transparent about such requests. Although the deal ensures greater transparency, privacy advocates say the measures don't go far enough.
The revealed figures, which cover the first 6 months of 2013, show that the number of requests made number relatively few. However, according to the News Tribune, that still means thousands of Americans have been targeted for surveillance.
Both Google and LinkedIn expressed their wish for more transparent procedures and allowances from the government, citing the vague numerical ranges of the disclosures. For example, Google reports that it, during the six month period, it received 0 - 999 FISA requests, leaving a vast margin of uncertainty.
Microsoft officials spoke out against current practices more heatedly, pressing the government to stop secret attempts to intercept information transmitted between private tech companies.