Revision as of 19:48, 18 May 2018

Govt requests for FB data

2017: India 2nd globally

Govt requests for FB data on the rise, India 2nd globally, May 17, 2018: The Times of India

Govt requests for FB data from India and other countries, in 2017- 2nd half
From: Govt requests for FB data on the rise, India 2nd globally, May 17, 2018: The Times of India

Most Requests Related To Criminal Investigations: Report

India made over 12,000 requests for data from Facebook between July and December 2017. Facebook complied with some or all data in 53% of these requests. The data requests were up by 23.5% from the first half of 2017, when the government made 9,853 requests.

India ranked second globally to the US, which made the maximum number of requests for data at 32,742. Facebook revealed these numbers in their biannual transparency report on Tuesday.

These requests cover Facebook and its other products like WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and Oculus. “Government officials sometimes make requests for data about people who use Facebook as part of official investigations. A vast majority of these requests relate to criminal cases, such as robberies or kidnappings. In many of these cases, these government requests seek basic subscriber information, such as name, registration date and length of service,” says Facebook describing the nature of the requests.

Facebook has over 201 million monthly active users in India, and over 234 million in the US.

The company also released data on “internet disruptions” or “intentional restrictions on connectivity” which impacted availability of its services. India topped the charts with 14 shutdowns or disruptions between July-December 2017. Iraq was second with nine and Turkey third with six internet disruptions. Possible reasons for such “disruptions” include internet shutdown ordered by government or suspension of web services.

United kingdom was a distant third in the number of requests made for data, at 7,455. Among the countries with the least number of requests was Russia, at six requests between July-December 2017. None of these requests were complied with. Pakistan made 1,320 requests and got responses for 59% of those.

Number of users

2017: 201 million users in India

Kim Arora|India has the most FB users: Report|Jul 15 2017 : The Times of India (Delhi)

A recent report claims that India has overtaken the United States in total number of Facebook users, becoming the social networking giant's top country by user base. The report pegs Indian users at 241 million, a shade ahead of the Unites States' 240 million. However, Facebook has contradicted the number, claiming the “monthly active“ users ­ or those who log in at least once a month ­ in India stands at 201million.

The report on technology news website The Next Web cited numbers reported to advertisers by Facebook. Citing slides from social media management platform Hootsuite and social media marketing and advertising agency We Are Social, it claims that India has 241 million “active“ users, while the US stands at 240 million. Brazil is reported to stand a distant third with 139 million “active“ users.

When contacted to confirm the TNW report, a Face firm the TNW report, a Facebook spokesperson told TOI over email: “Facebook has 201 million monthly active users in India.“ In its first quarter earnings call in May this year, Facebook reported 234 million MAUs for USA and Canada together. Splitting the numbers between the two countries, it is possible that India indeed has taken over USA in number of Facebook users by now ­ a development Facebook has not confirmed.

Just last month, Facebook reported reaching the two billion mark in monthly active users. The number game here is tricky.“Active“ users are different from registered users, who may or may not log in with any amount of regularity .

In 2017 India had 201 million Facebook users

A registered but inactive user is of little value to advertisers. Active users are mea sured variously as “daily active“ or “monthly active“.These log in at least one a day or once a month respectively . Typically, for any social media platform, the number of monthly active users or MAUs as they are called, is significantly higher than the number of daily active users or DAUs.

An important caveat from TNW contributor Simon Kemp explains the discrepancy in numbers. “It's worth noting that the numbers Facebook reports to advertisers can change on a daily basis though, and the platform even reported a slight dip in global user numbers just before it announced its two billion active user milestone,“ says Kemp in the TNW article. Which is to say , that the numbers for the earnings call and those reported to advertisers are measured differently .