Facebook says Costa Rican government asked for user data

August 28^th, 2013 (InsideCostaRica.com) Facebook released its first “transparency report” Tuesday showing the number of government data requests it receives from governments around the world, and while the largest numbers of requests come from the United States – at least 11,000 it said – Facebook said that Costa Rica has also requested user data.

The report, which comprises the first half of the year, said that Costa Rica made four requests for information on six unidentified users.  Facebook, however, refused Costa Rica’s requests.

The Costa Rican government and President Chinchilla refuted Facebook’s claim yesterday afternoon in a statement, denying it ever made such requests.  The Foreign Ministry and the Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS) also denied requesting user data.

According to the report, three countries in Central America made requests for data: Costa Rica (4), El Salvador (2) and Panama (2).

Facebook did not disclose a reason why Costa Rica’s requests were declined.  The Facebook report said that at least some data was released in 79 percent of U.S. data requests.

Worldwide, the second largest number of requests came from India, where 3,245 requests were made, affecting 4,144 users, Facebook said. The company provided at least some data in 50 percent of those cases.

The report covers the first six months of 2013, ending June 30^th.