Almost 100% Surge In India’s Request To Apple For Customers’ Data

New Delhi: The Indian government asked Apple to provide information related to customers’ data for 49 devices like iPhones in the July-December 2018 period – almost 100 per cent increase from the earlier January-June 2018 period when it asked for data for 27 devices. The number of requests from India — in various formats such as subpoenas, court orders, warrants or other valid legal requests — also included 28 financial identifiers, 18 accounts and 8 emergency requests, Apple said in its bi-annual transparency report released late Tuesday.

For the device requests, Apple provided data to the Indian government in 47 per cent of cases (23 devices) and 57 per cent in the cases related to financial identifiers. For the eight emergency requests from India in the specified period, Apple provided data in six cases (75 per cent). For the full last year, Apple provided customers’ data to India in 53 per cent of the cases.

In the earlier January-June 2018 period, Apple had provided data in most of the cases owing to an iTunes Gift Card fraud investigation. Keeping with the global trend where several tech giants, including Facebook and Twitter, release bi-annually transparency reports, Apple last year launched a new transparency report website which makes it easier to scan data requests from various governments. There were account preservation requests too. In the case of India, Apple received three requests and preserved data for one such account. (IANS)

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