Wikimedia Foundation Transparency Report/2014/Requests for User Data
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However, every year, governments, individuals, and corporations ask us to disclose user data. Often, we have no nonpublic information to disclose because we collect little nonpublic information about users and retain that information for a short period of time. But when we do have data, we carefully evaluate every request before considering disclosure. If the requests do not meet our standards — if they are overly broad, unclear, or irrelevant — we will push back on behalf of our users.
If we must produce information due to a legally valid request, we will notify the affected user before we disclose, if we are legally permitted and have the means to do so. In certain cases, we may help find assistance for users to fight an invalid request.
Below, you will find more information about the requests for user data we receive.
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Data
edit| JULY 2012 – JUNE 2014 | |
| Summary | |
| Total number of requests | 56 |
| Informal non-government requests | 28 |
| Informal government requests | 15 |
| Civil subpoenas | 8 |
| Criminal subpoenas | 5 |
| Administrative subpoenas | 0 |
| Search warrants | 0 |
| Court orders | 0 |
| Number of Times Information Produced | 8 |
| User accounts potentially affected | 69 |
| User accounts actually affected | 11 |
| July 2013 – December 2013 | ||
| Compared to other companies, we received relatively few requests* | ||
| Company | Requests received | Requests granted |
|---|---|---|
| 28,147 | 17,851 | |
| 27,477 | 17,561 | |
| 1,410 | 705 | |
| 72 | 34 | |
| Wikimedia | 13 | 0 |
| * Figures for Wikimedia include additional types of requests for user data that are not included in the other organizations' figures. See the FAQ for more details. | ||
| JULY 2012 – JUNE 2014 | ||
| Requests for user data, and how we responded | ||
| By request type: | ||
|---|---|---|
| Received | Granted | |
| Criminal subpoenas | 5 | 5 |
| Informal non-government requests | 28 | 0 |
| Informal government requests | 15 | 0 |
| Civil subpoenas | 8 | 3 |
| Administrative subpoenas | 0 | 0 |
| Search warrants | 0 | 0 |
| Court orders | 0 | 0 |
| By country: | ||
| United States | 22 | 8 |
| France | 5 | 0 |
| Germany | 5 | 0 |
| India | 5 | 0 |
| United Kingdom | 4 | 0 |
| Italy | 4 | 0 |
| New Zealand | 1 | 0 |
| Singapore | 1 | 0 |
| Malaysia | 1 | 0 |
| Canada | 1 | 0 |
| Hong Kong | 1 | 0 |
| Mexico | 1 | 0 |
| Netherlands | 1 | 0 |
| Slovakia | 1 | 0 |
| Brazil | 1 | 0 |
| Spain | 1 | 0 |
| Switzerland | 1 | 0 |