Dive Brief:

• Facebook said government requests for its account data jumped 18% in the first half of 2015.
• Total requests for Facebook account data increased to 41,214, with a majority of those requests coming from U.S law enforcement agencies.
• The technology industry has been an advocate for greater transparency on government data requests over the last few years.

Dive Insight:

Facebook said content restricted for violating local law more than doubled to 20,568 pieces during the same period.

Technology companies including Facebook, Microsoft, Yahoo and Alphabet (formerly Google) began publishing details last year about the number of government requests for data they receive. The companies hope the move will reduce citizen concerns about their involvement in government surveillance programs.