Microsoft & Facebook release details of NSA data requests

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WASHINGTON: American tech giants - Microsoft and Facebook - have disclosed the number of requests they had received from the US National Security Agency to reveal details including internet usage of their consumers.

Social networking site Facebook said that in the last six months of 2012 its requests totaled between 9,000 and 10,000, and covered issues like local law enforcement investigating a child abduction case all the way through investigations into terrorist threats.

These requests spanned between 18,000 and 19,000 Facebook accounts, the company said.

Microsoft's total was about 32,000 accounts over the same six month period ending December 31, 2012.

"For the six months ended December 31, 2012, Microsoft received between 6,000 and 7,000 criminal and national security warrants, subpoenas and orders affecting between 31,000 and 32,000 consumer accounts from US governmental entities (including local, state and federal)," said John Frank, vice president & deputy general counsel, Microsoft.