More Governments Request Account Information From Twitter [GRAPHICS]

An increasing number of national governments are asking Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) for account information, according to the microblogging platform's latest transparency report. In the past six months, the company received more than 2,000 different requests from 54 different countries, an increase of almost 150 percent since Twitter began releasing the data in 2012.

Twitter published its first report on July 4, just a few months after Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) made company data on copyright complaints available to the public. In a blog post, Twitter representatives wrote that making the information public was a symbolic reminder of the importance of government accountability. Twitter has released the report every six months.

Even though Twitter says that government requests for account information are usually related to criminal investigations, there may be something more at stake, as the social media giant isn’t always inclined to comply. This year, only 52 percent of requests led to the release of any information, a 10 percent drop over the last two years.

While the United States submits the majority of such requests, more countries across the globe have started asking lately. And while requests from the U.S. have ticked up slightly, requests from other nations have risen quickly, with the number made by Turkey, Brazil and Spain (individually) doubling since last year. While Twitter provided information to over 70 percent of the U.S.’s requests, it isn’t so willing to surrender it to other nations. Twitter provided information to only 39 percent of Brazil’s 77 requests, 12 percent of Spain’s 43 requests, and none of Turkey’s 24 requests.