Online Privacy: Electronic Frontier Society Releases “Who Has Your Back?” Annual Report

From the EFF:

As you search the Internet, visit websites, and update your social media accounts, you entrust a wealth of data to service providers: your thoughts, your photos, your location, and much more. What happens when the government wants access to all of this information, held by companies like Google and Facebook and AT&T? Will these providers help you fight back against unfair demands for data about your private life?
Today the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) releases its third annual report, “Who Has Your Back?,” which looks at major technology service providers’ commitment to users’ rights in the face of government data demands. EFF’s report examines 18 companies’ terms of service, privacy policies, advocacy, and courtroom track records, awarding up to six gold stars for best practices in categories like “require a warrant for content,” “tell users about government data demands,” and “publish transparency reports.”
[Clip]
EFF’s report shows that more and more Internet companies are formally promising to give users notice about law enforcement requests for information unless prohibited by law or court order. We also found a dramatic increase in the number of companies publishing law enforcement guidelines for making data requests. This year, two companies—Twitter and Sonic.net—received a full six stars, while . Verizon and MySpace earned no stars.

Direct to Full Text Report
A PDF version of the report is also available.
See Also: Access “Who Has Your Back” Reports from 2011, 2012

Filed under: Data Files, News, Patrons and Users, Publishing, Reports