Microsoft Reports Rise in Government Data Request Secrecy Orders

Government Data Requests and Secrecy Clauses

According to Microsoft’s head of customer security, approximately one-third of all data requests received from government entities include secrecy clauses.

These clauses effectively prevent the company from informing customers when their data is being sought via a warrant.

Testimony Before the House Judiciary Committee

This information was revealed by Tom Burt of Microsoft during testimony given before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

Lawmakers are currently considering legislative action in response to the Justice Department’s past efforts, under the Trump administration, to secretly access communication records.

The investigation centered on potential leaks of classified information to reporters at prominent news organizations, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and CNN.

The Prevalence of Secrecy Orders

Burt stated that secrecy orders have become increasingly common.

Microsoft frequently receives what he described as “boilerplate secrecy orders” lacking substantial legal or factual justification.

Since 2016, the company has processed between 2,400 and 3,500 such orders annually, averaging 7 to 10 per day.

The latest transparency report from Microsoft indicates they received nearly 11,200 legal orders from U.S. authorities in the previous year.

A Significant Increase Over Time

For comparison, U.S. courts authorized 2,395 warrants with secrecy clauses in 2010.

This number is considerably lower than the volume of secrecy orders Microsoft alone has received in each of the last five years.

The Broader Implications

Burt emphasized that these figures represent only the requests received by Microsoft, a single cloud service provider.

He suggested multiplying these numbers by the total number of technology companies handling data to understand the full extent of government surveillance.

Microsoft does not advocate for an unattainable standard for obtaining secrecy orders, but rather a more meaningful one.

Recent Expirations and Disclosures

Recent expirations of secrecy orders served on Apple, Google, and Microsoft have allowed these companies to disclose that the Justice Department, during the Trump administration, had sought their records.

This involved requesting data directly from the tech companies that host it.

Policy Changes and Legislative Needs

President Biden has committed to ending the collection of journalists’ phone and email records and has also removed some secrecy provisions.

However, lawmakers recognize that legislative changes are necessary to formally establish these policies into law.

Microsoft’s Ongoing Efforts

Microsoft’s Burt affirmed the company’s commitment to preventing the misuse of secrecy orders.

The company previously challenged the constitutionality of gag orders by filing a lawsuit against the Justice Department in 2016.

Data security and customer privacy remain key priorities for the technology giant.