Apple changes how it reports U.S. national security requests

“Apple Inc on Thursday changed how it reports on U.S. national security requests for user data, bringing its procedures more in line with those of technology rivals such as Microsoft Corp and Alphabet Inc’s Google,” Stephen Nellis reports for Reuters.
“In its first-half 2018 transparency report on government data requests to its website, Apple separated out National Security Letters and requests under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA. Apple had combined numbers for the two items since it began reporting them in 2014. Apple had previously published its aggregate number sooner than other technology companies that broke them out separately because the FISA numbers are subject to a six-month reporting delay by law,” Nellis reports. “Apple will also report the number of FISA requests for a user’s content versus those not inquiring about such content.”
“The changes will mean longer delays in Apple’s reporting of overall national security requests,” Nellis reports. “But the new format is similar to those for companies such as Microsoft and Google, making it easier for researchers and the public to compare.”
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MacDailyNews Note: Apple’s latest Transparency Report, which covers January-June 2018, is here.