author: Bart Swiatek
Google Requires Public Services to Pay for Access to User Data
Google has begun to require public services such as the police and the prosecutor's office to pay for the handling of court orders in the USA. Access to user data subject to a process or investigation was priced at USD 45-245, depending on the type of request and the amount of information requested.
According to the New York Times, Google has begun to require the law enforcement services to pay for access to user data, which is needed for investigations and lawsuits. The prices depend on the type of order to be executed. The subpoena call costs $45, while wiretapping costs $60. The priciest, $245, are search warrants.
Google argues that the fees are necessary to ensure that the work that is required to provide officers with all the information does not bring loss to the company. It is worth noting that from a legal point of view, companies have the right to charge for similar services, although most of them provide them for free.
The position of the Redmond giant is somewhat controversial, but you can understand it by looking at the statistics. Over the last decade, the frequency with which public services reach for information held by companies such as Google and Facebook has increased dramatically. In a report last year, the giant from Mountain View revealed that in the first half of 2019 alone, it was asked to access data of more than 160,000 users. In each case, the company looks at the situation and assesses whether the service's request is adequate or whether it should be narrowed down (depending on the year, 60-80% of the requests are answered positively).
Number of requests for data from government entities.