Wikimedia Foundation Transparency Report/2014/Requests for User Data

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Freedom of speech is essential to the Wikimedia movement—our projects cannot flourish in an ecosystem where individuals cannot speak freely. Our users trust us to protect their identities against unlawful disclosure and we take this responsibility seriously.

However, every year, governments, individuals, and corporations ask us to disclose user data. Often, we have no nonpublic information to disclose because we collect little nonpublic information about users and retain that information for a short period of time. But when we do have data, we carefully evaluate every request before considering disclosure. If the requests do not meet our standards — if they are overly broad, unclear, or irrelevant — we will push back on behalf of our users.

If we must produce information due to a legally valid request, we will notify the affected user before we disclose, if we are legally permitted and have the means to do so. In certain cases, we may help find assistance for users to fight an invalid request.

Below, you will find more information about the requests for user data we receive.

“Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.” — Oscar Wilde, Writer & Poet, (1891)

JULY 2012 – JUNE 2014 Total Number of Requests 56

JULY 2012 – JUNE 2014 Percentage of Times Information Produced 14%

Data

JULY 2012 – JUNE 2014
Summary
Total number of requests	56
Informal non-government requests	28
Informal government requests	15
Civil subpoenas	8
Criminal subpoenas	5
Administrative subpoenas	0
Search warrants	0
Court orders	0
Number of Times Information Produced	8
User accounts potentially affected	69
User accounts actually affected	11

July 2013 – December 2013
Compared to other companies, we received relatively few requests*
Company	Requests received	Requests granted
Facebook	28,147	17,851
Google	27,477	17,561
Twitter	1,410	705
LinkedIn	72	34
Wikimedia	13	0
* Figures for Wikimedia include additional types of requests for user data that are not included in the other organizations' figures. See the FAQ for more details.

JULY 2012 – JUNE 2014
Requests for user data, and how we responded
By request type:
	Received	Granted
Criminal subpoenas	5	5
Informal non-government requests	28	0
Informal government requests	15	0
Civil subpoenas	8	3
Administrative subpoenas	0	0
Search warrants	0	0
Court orders	0	0
By country:
United States	22	8
France	5	0
Germany	5	0
India	5	0
United Kingdom	4	0
Italy	4	0
New Zealand	1	0
Singapore	1	0
Malaysia	1	0
Canada	1	0
Hong Kong	1	0
Mexico	1	0
Netherlands	1	0
Slovakia	1	0
Brazil	1	0
Spain	1	0
Switzerland	1	0