Pakistan increasingly asking Facebook for censoring content, user data

India and Turkey lead list of countries who asked content to be removed, while US, India, UK who wanted most user data

In a surprising move, Pakistan noted a sharp increase in requests made to Facebook to restrict or remove content from the social media network and information on information on user data in the second half of 2013, according to information released by the company on Friday.

Ranked according to content restriction requests, Pakistan (162 requests) came behind India (4,765 requests) and Turkey (2,014 request) who asked Facebook to restrict or remove content on the grounds that it violates local law. This is the first time the social media network has released any data on governments asking it to restrict or remove content.

Facebook also released information about requests made by various governments seeking information on user data or their accounts on the social media network.

According to the information released, Pakistan made 126 requests for user data (referencing 163 user accounts) in the second half of 2013. This was in stark contrast to the 35 such requests (referencing 47 user accounts) it had made in the first half of the year, registering a significant jump of 360%.

The announcement comes as little surprise after Pakistan had briefly blocked the social media network in 2010.

Ranked according to the number of requests made for user data, Pakistan ranked 20th on the list which was topped by US (12,598), India (3,598) and the UK (1,906).

Of the requests made from July to December 2013, Facebook provided the government with at least some information on 60 requests, comprising 48% of the requests made. In the first half of 2013, however, Facebook had complied with 77% of such requests.

“When we receive a government request seeking to enforce those laws, we review it with care, and, even where we conclude that it is legally sufficient, we only restrict access to content in the requesting country,” the Facebook statement said. “We do not remove content from our service entirely unless we determine that it violates our community standards.”

The statement also explained that Facebook took a similar approach when it came to request for account information, however, when they did provide information, in most instances they shared only basic information, such as name and IP address.

Names and IP addresses though may sometimes be enough for governments to track those account holders to physical addresses.