Microsoft says no increase in US foreign intelligence surveillance requests

A security camera hangs near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., November 7, 2016. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

WASHINGTON: Microsoft Corp said this week it had wrongly reported that a sharp increase in US government surveillance requests took place during the first half of 2016, revising its official numbers to show the amount remained flat over previous intervals. 

Microsoft on April 13 released its biannual transparency report stating the company received between 1,000 and 1,499 US surveillance orders under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) for user content between January and June of 2016.