Governments worldwide submitted 374,516 requests for user data to Meta in the first half of 2025, a 15.6% increase from the same period in 2024.
Of the total requests, Meta states that it supplied 78.7% of the requested data. That is, 295,125 of the total requests supplied.
This data comes from Meta’s Transparency Report.
Of the total requests, approximately 46,000 were labeled as emergency disclosures.
These requests were granted without court orders for alleged imminent threats such as kidnappings or terrorism, prompting scrutiny of whether governments are addressing genuine crises or exploiting this pathway to evade judicial oversight.
TL;DR
- Meta handled 374,516 government data requests in H1 2025, a 16% year-over-year increase, with 78.7% of them seeking user information amid rising global surveillance.
- Emergency disclosures reached 46,400, surpassing warrants and raising concerns about potential misuse outside of crises.
- Legal requests declined briefly in H2 2024 before increasing 18.4% in H1 2025; transparency gaps obscure major requesters such as India and the US.
| wdt_ID | wdt_created_by | wdt_created_at | wdt_last_edited_by | wdt_last_edited_at | Data request types | H1 2016 | H1 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | emmanuel-ashemiriogwa | 13/03/2026 11:05 AM | emmanuel-ashemiriogwa | 13/03/2026 11:05 AM | Legal process | 56,200.00 | 328,000.00 |
| 2 | emmanuel-ashemiriogwa | 13/03/2026 11:05 AM | emmanuel-ashemiriogwa | 13/03/2026 11:05 AM | Emergency disclosure | 3,020.00 | 46,400.00 |
The “Emergency” Question
In the first half of 2025, Meta received 46,400 emergency data disclosures, up from previous periods. This can be extrapolated into about 258 urgent cases globally each day.
These emergency disclosures do not require warrants, allowing quick data access in urgent situations like kidnappings or suicides. Meta reviews each case to verify credibility before data release.
Nonetheless, with roughly 258 emergency requests daily, questions arise about the genuine necessity of these disclosures. Critics fear that governments might abuse this loophole to bypass judicial approval.
This trend indicates a rise in surveillance measures that could jeopardize user privacy, often justified by urgent needs.
The H2 2024 Anomaly
Legal requests decreased from 283,000 in the first half of 2024 to 277,000 in the second half, marking a rare slowdown amid increasing global surveillance activities.
Following this decline, the number of requests surged to 328,000 in the first half of 2025, representing an increase of 51,000 within six months.
This jump reflects an 18.4% rise and indicates an accelerating trend in data demands.
The brief decrease prior to the surge may be linked to election-year considerations in some regions.
Governments likely paused data requests during the 2024 election periods to avoid scrutiny. After the elections concluded, requests increased as authorities shifted their focus to security concerns.
It raises questions about the impact of political events on surveillance and privacy practices.
What’s Missing: Which Governments?
Meta’s transparency reports provide global totals but lack a comprehensive, all-in-one breakdown of government requests by country, making it challenging to gauge the full scope of government data demands worldwide.
Users must search individually for country-specific data, leaving the full picture fragmented and difficult to interpret without cross-referencing multiple sources.
The U.S., as Meta’s home base and a major market, likely accounts for a significant share. Still, India emerges as the top requester in H1 2025 with a 31.9% increase, indicating shifting patterns in government data demands.
Recall that Data Explained reported last month that governments demanded that Google remove approximately 25,000 items from the internet in the first half (H1) of 2025.
It was a 25-fold increase from roughly 1,000 requests in the first half of 2011. And, “Privacy and security” was the dominant reason for censorship, accounting for 4,958 last year.
ELI5
Meta received over 374,500 government data requests in the first half of 2025, a 16% increase from the previous year.
Of these requests, about 78.7% were approved to access user information, reflecting how governments are increasingly surveilling people worldwide.
There were 46,400 emergency disclosures, averaging 258 per day, often made without warrants, raising concerns about potential misuse outside urgent situations.
Legal requests for data decreased slightly in the second half of 2024, then increased by 18.4% in the first half of 2025.
However, we don’t have full details on who is making these requests, especially from countries like India and the US, because some information about requesters isn’t transparent.
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