Meta and TikTok disclosed that they complied with the majority of user data requests from Australian authorities, according to their latest biannual transparency reports. In total, Meta complied with 3,654 out of 4,517 requests relating to 5,338 accounts, while TikTok complied with 91 out of 224 requests relating to 229 users. The reports do not specify the origins of the requests, but some authorities provide examples and the number of times they obtained end-user information. Entities such as the Australian Federal Police, eSafety Commissioner, and courts were among those making requests.
The reports from Google and Microsoft for the period of July to December 2022 are yet to be released, and Twitter announced in April that it had stopped publishing country-specific statistics on information requests. The reports also mention emergency requests, which are informal requests for data from foreign companies that do not require processing through Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties. Once the CLOUD Act treaty is ratified, formal data requests for serious crimes like ransomware attacks will be able to be approved by US-based companies without going through the MLAT process.
There is no centralized register of the authorities making end-user information requests to social media platforms in Australia, unlike with telecommunications interception powers. The eSafety Commissioner sought end-user identity information or contact details four times during the period for investigations into crimes involving non-consensual sharing of images. However, the Commissioner’s reports do not break down these statistics by individual companies. The Australian Federal Police utilized account-takeover powers twice to investigate child abuse during the 2021-2022 financial year, as reported in their annual report.
Meta has a history of providing law enforcement with message content, as seen in a recent high-profile case in Nebraska. Currently, only Meta’s WhatsApp service uses end-to-end encryption by default, but the company plans to extend encryption to Instagram, Messenger, and Facebook by the end of 2023, much to the frustration of the eSafety Commissioner. TikTok does not utilize end-to-end encryption. Meta’s transparency report outlines the types of data it may produce to assist law enforcement, including basic subscriber information and stored account contents such as messages, photos, videos, timeline posts, and location information.
