Apple has gone public with a statement on how they handle requests for customer data from Government agencies. Reiterating their stance first and foremost that a court order is required for any data to be handed over, the release goes on to say that Apple received between 4,000 and 5,000 requests for customer data over a six month period to May 31 2013.
Two weeks ago, when technology companies were accused of indiscriminately sharing customer data with government agencies, Apple issued a clear response: We first heard of the government’s “Prism” program when news organizations asked us about it on June 6. We do not provide any government agency with direct access to our servers, and any government agency requesting customer content must get a court order.
The requests covered up to 10,000 devices or accounts, came from federal, state and local authorities and included requests on behalf of criminal investigations and matters of national security. Apple also points out that their legal team evaluates each and every request, and that they cannot provide information sent via FaceTime or iMessage as these services are encrypted end-to-end. Read the full statement on Apple's official website at the link below.
Source: Apple
