Govt user data requests need reforms to curb unwanted gag orders: Google

San Francisco: Google has demanded reforms in the practice of governments seeking users’ personal information and then issuing gag orders against the citizens.
“As our lives continue to become more digitised, laws governing government access to personal information need to evolve to protect both public safety and civil liberties,” Kent Walker, President of Global Affairs, Google and Alphabet, said.
The governments across the world seek orders to prevent providers like Google from telling users about demands for data.
These so-called non-disclosure orders (NDOs) or “gag orders” have become commonplace.
“We’ve seen NDOs issued in cases where the user is already aware of the investigation, and even of the legal demand itself. Similarly, we’ve seen NDOs issued covering legal requests for the data of well-established reputable organisations, even though notifying the organisation is highly unlikely to do harm,” Walker said.
The company has also seen some NDOs that might have been initially justified lasting years beyond the investigation, in some cases indefinitely.