Dropbox’s Transparency Report Released for First Quarter

Bart Volkmer, an attorney with the organization, disclosed within a post that Dropbox had acquired 268 requests for user data from law enforcement agencies between January and June of this year. Additionally, while he hasn’t given a precise number because of limitations, the Dropbox representative said there were “0-249” national security requests.

The organization has been given a total of 120 search warrants and supplied information (files stored on users’ accounts) and non-content (subscriber details) in 103 cases. As a result of 109 subpoenas, the business hasn’t supplied police with any information, however, it gave up subscriber information in 89 cases. While many of the demands originated from America, the report reveals that there have been as many as 37 requests from organizations in other countries.

Volkmer pointed out, that while these figures are tiny given that the organization has 300 million customers, Dropbox only complies with such demands if all legal requirements are fulfilled. He claims cases by which agencies request an excessive amount of data or haven’t followed proper processes are “pushed back.”

As many as 42 users were informed in the event the file sharing service was shown search warrants, and 47 individuals were informed regarding subpoenas.

There haven’t been any demands from governments directed at Dropbox for Business accounts, the company added.

“We’ll push for greater openness, better laws, and more protections for your information. A bill currently in Congress would do just that by reining in bulk data collection by the US government and allowing online services to be more transparent about the government data requests they receive,” Volkmer stated. “Another would make it clear that government agencies must get a warrant supported by probable cause before they may demand the contents of user communications. We’ll continue to lend our support for these bills and for real surveillance reform around the world.”