Facebook got 10,000 requests for data from NSA in just six months (and Microsoft received 7,000 orders)

Facebook and Microsoft were able to reveal limited information on Friday night about the government orders they have received to turn over user data to security agencies. Ted Ullyot, Facebook's general counsel, said in a statement that they had between 9,000 and 10,000 requests from all government entities, from local to federal, in the last six months of 2012. The orders involved the accounts of between 18,000 and 19,000 Facebook users on a broad range of surveillance topics, from missing children to terrorism. Microsoft said they had between 6,000 and 7,000 orders, affecting between 31,000 and 32,000 accounts, but downplayed how much they had revealed.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2342277/Facebook-got-10-000-requests-data-NSA-just-months-Microsoft-received-7-000-orders.html#ixzz2WOfEz2ks

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Facebook, Microsoft disclose number of national security-related data requests

Facebook is now disclosing to the public the number of national security-related requests it received from the government for user data. Microsoft has released similar statistics. But Google has declined, saying it prefers a different approach.

Facebook hashtags - Facebook Start Twitter style hashtags for topics

Facebook Inc, the world's No 1 social network, has announced that it will adopt hashtags, one of the most recognisable features of its younger rival Twitter, in a move to position its web service as an important complement to television, sporting events and breaking news.

Facebook said on Wednesday that it will begin to roll out the feature on its social network, making it easier for users and advertisers to find hot spots of user activity around specific events or topics.

The hashtag, which appears as the # symbol and was first popularised on Twitter, enables users to follow specific topics of conversation within a social network's ever-changing stream of user comments.