GD Requested Meta Information on Over 400 Users Since 2020
The Georgian Dream government has requested information on 440 users or accounts from Meta since 2020 through the first half of 2024, according to official data from Facebook and Instagram owner tech giant.
The highest number of requests came in the first half of 2023, when authorities made 47 requests for 149 users or accounts – the most in any reporting period since 2013. The trend indicates that the number of requests has increased over the years.
| Time period | Total requests | Users/accounts requested | % of requests where some data produced |
| Jul-Dec 2013 | 3 | 3 | 33% |
| Jan-Jun 2014 | 1 | 1 | 0% |
| Jul-Dec 2015 | 4 | 4 | 75% |
| Jan-Jun 2016 | 30 | 60 | 53% |
| Jul-Dec 2016 | 15 | 26 | 87% |
| Jan-Jun 2017 | 8 | 9 | 75% |
| Jul-Dec 2017 | 16 | 20 | 94% |
| Jan-Jun 2018 | 18 | 26 | 89% |
| Jul-Dec 2018 | 19 | 35 | 89% |
| Jan-Jun 2019 | 16 | 27 | 56% |
| Jul-Dec 2019 | 4 | 12 | 100% |
| Jan-Jun 2020 | 14 | 18 | 57% |
| Jul-Dec 2020 | 10 | 18 | 70% |
| Jan-Jun 2021 | 14 | 15 | 64% |
| Jul-Dec 2021 | 26 | 47 | 76.92% |
| Jan-Jun 2022 | 27 | 40 | 96.3% |
| Jul-Dec 2022 | 28 | 53 | 71.43% |
| Jan-Jun 2023 | 47 | 149 | 93.62% |
| Jul-Dec 2023 | 32 | 53 | 87.4% |
| Jan-Jun 2024 | 30 | 47 | 76.7% |
Source: transparency.meta.com
The government’s request for Meta to turn over user information may not be met. “Meta responds to government requests for data in accordance with applicable law and our terms of service. Each and every request we receive is carefully reviewed for legal sufficiency, and we may reject or require greater specificity on requests that appear overly broad or vague,” the company said.
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