Most of us share and save huge amounts of personal data online, from our names and addresses to photos of our loved ones. In many ways, companies such as Apple, Google and Meta are the gatekeepers of this sensitive information. But what happens when the authorities knock? It seems that Silicon Valley repeats and holds.
Apple, Google and Meta H in the past 10 yearsand via data on 3.1 million accounts to the US government, According to a new report by Swiss Software Company Proton.
Proton found the number of officials who have requested the Big Tech user data from Big Tech in the same period. The data exchange of meta increased by 675%and marked the greatest increase, followed by Apple at 621%and Google at 530%.
According to Proton, Apple, Google and Meta correspond between 80 and 90% of the data inquiries of the US government. The May include the handover of user -e emails, files, messages and other highly person -related information.
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While data inquiries also saw an increase from countries such as Germany, France and Great Britain, the United States took the lion's share.
“Everything that is necessary for the government in order to find out as well as everything that it could ever need is an inquiry message at Big Tech in California,” said Raphael Hichen, Coo from Proton. “And as long as Big Tech refuses to implement widespread end-to-end encryption, these massive private data reserves remain open to abuse.”
The data exchange among the US authorities has increased since 2014. Credit: Proton
Government wishes according to data
Proton-known for its products Protonmail, ProtonVPN and Protondrive-Hat for a long time positioned itself as an alternative for privacy companies. However, the company also corresponds to its appropriate share of government inquiries about user data.
According to Protons own Transparency reportPresent In 2017 it received 13 data inquiries from Swiss authorities that rose to 6,378 by 2024. Of these, it corresponded to 5,971 of the inquiries. That is 93% – higher than the large tech companies that were highlighted in the new report.
However, In contrast to the Giants of Silicon Valley, Proton -e emails, files and VPN traffic encrypted in a way that the company itself cannot read or access. Even if the authorities require data, it can only offer very little.
“Under no circumstances can we release e -mails, files, contact lists, calendar entries or other personal content,” a Proton spokesman told TNW. “We cannot share what we don't have.”
In addition, Proton works according to strict Swiss data protection laws, which means that foreign governments cannot request any data from it without first going through Swiss courts, which adds an additional security level for users.
In certain circumstances, however, the company can hand over metadata Via the account, including IP address, e -mail address and recipient -e emails.
“Proton is dedicated to the protection of the user's privacy, but that does not mean that it is a safe port for illegal activities,” said the spokesman. “Proton is subject to national laws and has legal obligations that we have to comply with, unless we have legal reasons for cheering, which does not happen very often in Switzerland.”
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