India follows rest of world in requesting Google for more user data

Indian law enforcement agencies are increasingly requesting for more user data from search giant Google, a trend that is seen across the globe as more governments begin using digital data to fight crime and curb terrorism.

In its latest Transparency Report, Google revealed that Indian law enforcement agencies made 3,452 requests to get access to user data during the January to June period this year.

The requests affected 6,207 users/accounts with Google producing information for 55 per cent of the requests.

While the number of requests for user data being made by India has been steadily on the rise, it’s in-line with global trends. Moreover, as India’s base of Internet users grows, cybercrime is on the rise and agencies too are increasingly turning to digital logs to prosecute offenders.

India has been one among the top five countries in requesting for user data from Google since 2009 which is as far back as company will reveal data for requests made by governments.

The data reveals that requests from governments across the globe has been increasing by around 5,000 on a half yearly basis over the past two years.

US, France, Germany, UK and Brazil have been some of the top requesters of user data alongside India. In the Jan-Jun period 44,943 requests were made to Google to reveal user data, up from 40,677 requests in the Jul-Dec period last year. During the first half of this year, India ranked fourth among countries in making such requests.

India’s Internet base has grown from around 90 million in 2010 to nearly half a billion in 2016 and this growth remains steady with the increasing penetration of smartphones.

Over 200 million Indians own smartphones today and that number is expected to hit half a billion by 2020 according to analysts.

While it cannot be ascertained why the Indian government made requests to get access to sensitive user data, majority of these would be made by law enforcement agencies with regard to crime committed.

However, as seen with the Edward Snowden leaks, government’s often misuse data from tech giants such as Google to spy on civilians.

The US continues to lead the pack with 14,168 requests for user data being made during the Jan-Jun period this year, but Germany and France too seem to have stepped up their data requests over the past year, probably owing to the slew of terror attacks that have shocked the Europe recently.

As Internet penetration grows across the globe, more governments are turning to digital trails to prevent and solve crime while also keep tabs on suspects. Google’s Transparency Report shows this trend, but doesn’t necessarily reflect the extent to which digital surveillance is done.