Today the U.S. Department of Justice gave permission to companies like Apple, Google, and Microsoft to share previously classified details regarding requests for customer data from the government.
Tim Cook recently said in an interview that Apple has a gag order preventing it from disclosing what exact information it has given over to the NSA. Now Apple and other companies that have fought for greater transparency from the government can share more about what they’ve had to share. Apple has posted a revised list of the information requests it received between January and June of 2013.
Apple in an official statement given to Re/code:
“Apple has always believed that our customers have the right to understand how their personal information is being handled. We applaud the Administration for taking this important step toward greater transparency, and we thank the Justice Department for considering Apple’s point of view as it reached this decision. Our business does not rely on collecting large amounts of personal data about our customers, which is reflected in the figures we are releasing under the new transparency rules. We look forward to working with the White House working group led by John Podesta, focusing on big data and the future of privacy. We believe it’s one of the most important issues facing our industry and our society today.”
You can read the full report from Apple at the source link below.
Source: Apple
Alex Heath is a journalist who works for Tech Insider. He’s the former co-host of The CultCast. He has been quoted by the likes of the BBC, KRON 4 News, and books like “ICONIC: A Photographic Tribute to Apple Innovation.” He lives in Lexington, Kentucky. If you want to pitch a story, share a tip, or just get in touch, additional contact information is available on his personal site. Follow him on Twitter.
